Country and Classical music may not seem immediately synonymous to the average listener but JC Fisher, Marcus Collins, and John Hagan have successfully brought the two genres together. Known as the “The Texas Tenors” the trio successfully competed on America’s Got Talent and have received millions of views on social networks.
Natasha Barbieri: You are considered the most successful touring group from AGT. What do you think is the most important thing when trying to connect to an audience?
The Texas Tenors: We always think about the show from the audience perspective. The audience wants to feel moved, inspired and entertained. So, we consider all of this when selecting music, creating arrangements, lighting, sound, etc. We also do our best to engage with the audience by telling stories and sharing our personalities on stage. Before the pandemic, one of our favorite parts of the show was going into the audience and singing to them, bring up a volunteer on stage..someday we know we’ll get back to being able to do that.
Natasha Barbieri: I’ve actually always felt country/classical could be a perfect crossover because of the beautiful melodies and stories. How did you first start combining the styles, was it a suggestion from someone or just a happy accident?
The Texas Tenors: It’s music we truly love and it’s always been natural for us to sing these different styles. In the early 2000’s JC was performing his own solo show around the world and Marcus began performing his solo show, each incorporating everything from country to classical. With a wealth of band charts (mostly JC’s) and banter from these shows we were able to create The Texas Tenors’ signature variety of music. John then created the stunning harmonies to most every arrangement and most you have heard throughout the past 11 years. We immediately noticed how fun it was to bring harmonies and lush orchestrations to all kinds of music. It’s so rewarding taking our audience on a true musical journey each and every night performing everything from tenor staples like “Nessun Dorma” ,a fully orchestrated reimagining of “Wild Horses” by The Rolling Stones to showstoppers from Les Miserables and Phantom of the Opera.
Natasha Barbieri: Did you three ever consider giving up or was it always just minor setbacks and eyes on your goal of a career in music?
The Texas Tenors: The entertainment business is not easy. Over the last 11 years, we have of course experienced some bumps in the road. We are self-managed, which has advantages and disadvantages. Turning out new music can be a bigger challenge without the support of a music label, major sponsorships, or financial backing. We know that we are extremely fortunate to have had America’s Got Talent as a platform to get ourselves out there. Some acts take that though and do nothing with it, but we’ve turned those appearances to lasting career and real place in the music industry.
Natasha Barbieri: What accomplishment are you individually proudest of?
The Texas Tenors: Our proudest professional accomplishments have been reached together as The Texas Tenors! Appearing on AGT and all-stars edition America’s Got Talent: The Champions, racking up over 1500 live concerts together, signing for our nation at the White House, performing with so many incredible orchestras around the country including The Boston Pops, being able to help so many charities and making a living for our families. Also, self-producing 2 successful PBS Specials with 5 Emmy nominations and 3 wins including Best Entertainment Special, 5 Top 10 albums, 2 of which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Classical Chart and reaching the top 10 on the Billboard Classical Year-End charts in 2017 & 2019. We were able to do all of this as independent artists with no label, no high profile management or sponsors.
Natasha Barbieri: As you look to the future, what are some of the professional and musical goals you hope to achieve?
The Texas Tenors: Considering the pandemic, we are very blessed that most of our concerts that postponed are back on the schedule for 2021-2022, but we would love to continue adding more and more live concerts back to our schedule.
Musically, we have a new album in post-production that will be released Spring 2021 and would like to continue releasing more albums with that signature variety.
The hashtag #TTTforever has been making its ways around social media, because we know that we will be around for many years to come. Ultimately we want to leave our mark on the CLASSICAL CROSSOVER genre.
We are very proud of what we’ve accomplished and appreciate your magazine acknowledging and appreciating us this way. It means so much to us.
Keep up to date with the Texas Tenors through their official website: thetexastenors.com
