Our Musicians

Lori Hall

You’ll be drawn in by heartfelt songs about life and love….delivered with  thoughtfulness and a velvety voice that makes you feel right at home.

Like so many of your favorite singers who have risen through the ranks in Nashville, Lori made her mark initially as a session singer performing on numerous studio recordings as a demo singer for many songwriters, and recording background vocals for artist such as Blackhawk, Deana Carter, T. Graham Brown. She has also worked with Ray Stevens, Steve Wariner, and the late Boots Randolph.

The sadly departed Chet Atkins took Lori under his wing some years ago and on several occasions had her on stage as his special guest, which included her first appearance on the Grand Ole Opry.

Lori is a trained and accomplished actress and dancer, with lead roles in “The Fantastiks” and “Born Yesterday” as well as featured roles in various music videos.

The past few years, Lori has stayed busy traveling the U.S. as well as Mexico, Puerto Rico and Europe performing for groups consisting of 150-8,000 people, at various corporate events and conventions.

Lori’s interpretive skills, and her love for music and “live” performing, is showcased whenever she takes the stage.

For more information you can go to loridhall.com

 

Mark Sorrells

Mark Sorrells has played jazz piano in Nashville for over twenty years. Mark’s style shifts easily from smooth and sophisticated jazz and swing to barrelhouse, blues, boogie & New Orleans piano music. His repertoire ranges from Gershwin to Memphis, from swing to salsa to seminal rock ‘n roll, always with a special love and care for the diverse roots of our American musical influence.

Mark is currently a mainstay at Ellendale’s Restaurant as a solo artist, and Chappy’s on Church Street where he is performing with James R. Newell as Newell & Sorrells. Mark’s performance history includes extended stays at Merchant’s, 106 Club, F. Scott’s, the Hillwood and Richland Country Clubs, and Mark was the house pianist at the Belle Meade Brasserie in Nashville for five years, at Saffire in the Factory in Franklin for two, and at Nero’s Restaurant & Piano Bar for the past year. Mark is also a multi-faceted and published songwriter, writing and producing in his own studio.

For more information, you can go to marksorrells.com

Tom Shinness

Tom has resided for 15 years in Nashville TN where he is an in demand session player. He is a multi-instrumentalist playing guitar, bass, cello, mandolin, keyboards, and percussion. He has studied and played just about every style of music on the planet. He also borrows playing techniques from one instrument and uses them on another, such as playing the cello like a guitar, and playing the guitar like a drum.  In 1989 Tom released his first of 6 instrumental CD’s “Something Inseparable”, which draws from many different styles into a sound all his own.

He is especially passionate about unusual instruments from around the world, taking the listener to places they’ve never been before. One of these instruments is a rare 16-string harp guitar built by Gibson in 1913. Tom’s one man show is truly unique. With a stage full of instruments at hand, he will combine layers of acoustic sounds through the process of electronic looping, taking the listener on sonic excursions that most have never imagined. Living in Nashville, the songwriter capital of the world, has proven to sharpen Tom’s skills as a songwriter. This has led to great demand as a vocalist. Tom’s music has been used in national commercials, and on National Public Television and Radio.

For more information you can go to tomshinness.com

Melissa VanFleet

Raised with an appreciation for all types of music, singer/songwriter/pianist Melissa VanFleet, 23, has the ability to perform all genres- from jazz standards to blues to country- effortlessly. She began to take music seriously upon completion of her first studio recording at age 12 and immediately fell in love with the art of creating music. A self-taught vocalist from a very early age, Melissa also learned to play the piano by ear and feels that it is the perfect instrument for her because it emits so much emotion. She credits her 19 years of extensive dance training and competing experience for the acquisition of stage presence and audience connection during performances. Her unique, strong and consistent voice, vast repertoire, and humble personality has earned her much appraisal among listeners. In February 2008, she was recruited from Bethlehem, Pennsylvania to Nashville to pursue her music dreams further. In addition to playing frequently at Ellendale’s, Melissa is currently songwriting and performing her original material in venues around the Nashville area.

For more information you can go to Melissa VanFleet

Zachary Forbes

Zachary is a 26 year old whose passion is playing music. He has been playing piano for over 5 years, and began singing about 2 years ago. Soon after he started playing piano he fell in love with jazz music from the American Songbook. He is always inspired by the great crooners: Frank Sinatra, Tony Bennett, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, and post-modern great Harry Connik Jr. as well as Jamie Cullum and others.

Although he came from a rich background of musical talent, he began his journey in music only just before his 21st birthday. Prior, Zachary was a semi-proffessional motocross racer, but a series of major injuries led him to rethink his career path. Tinkering on an old grand piano one day, picking out famous melodies from his childhood turned into a sudden desire to seriously play the piano. His grandfather was a pianist and always dreamed that Zachary would one day learn to play. It wasn’t until just before his passing that Zachary’s desire to play music was fully realized. Since then he has emerged as bright young talent and his passion will no doubt carry him to the top. Zachary’s style blends the old standards with some of his own original pieces, and is no doubt a crowd favorite.

Delores Hershey

Delores Hershey grew up on a farm in a Michigan family that had just left an Amish community to embrace conservative Christianity. She began playing piano at 5 and violin at 7, and she and her family spent several years singing on weekends at area churches. Her father, who, she says, “was still in the Amish frame of mind,” frowned on secular music, except for occasional old-school country of the Patsy Cline/George Jones variety, which he had embraced since the days when he would sneak off to listen to it as a boy. It was music Hershey would come to embrace whole-heartedly. As a teen, she sang country and pop in talent shows and gospel in the school chapel.

After graduating with a double major in Piano Performance and Piano Pedagogy, she sang lead and played keyboards for a local band whose repertoire included Shania Twain, Patsy Cline, the Eagles and pop standards like “Misty,” and fronted two other club bands with set lists that stretched from Skynyrd to Celine Dion. Those gigs, she says, “reaffirmed my love for all kinds of music, but in the end I came back to country, which is my roots.” Growing up on a farm and with parents who love country music, Delores notes, “I really didn’t stand a chance to not play and sing country music.”

Delores is currently performing every week by playing the piano and singing at local venues in Nashville.

“I don’t ever quit,” she says, “because my drive comes straight out of my love for music and for performing. I’m here to stay.”

For more information you can go to Delores Hershey

Merry Ellen Kirk

Merry Ellen Kirk, a talented young songstress based in Nashville, TN, is only just embarking upon her musical journey. At 21, she travels the country with her magical voice and songs, leaving audiences captivated, enchanted, and craving more. Her first album, Invisible War, speaks to the world within ourselves and the tension and resolution we find between good and evil. Merry Ellen’s childhood in Mongolia gave her a different lens through which to see the world as well as a desire to impart change through song. Merry Ellen recently released an EP from her duo project The Shakespeares to critical acclaim, and is currently at work on her second solo studio album, Firefly Garden.