Name: River City Jazz Masters: Vincent Herring
Start: 2026-05-13T19:30:00
Location: Manship Theatre

Vincent Herring

Manship Theatre

‍CJ Solar was born and raised in Baton Rouge, LA. He moved to Nashville, TN in 2010 to attend Belmont University and has been there ever since. As a songwriter, CJ has co-written two #1 hits - “Up Down” recorded by Morgan Wallen featuring Florida Georgia Line and “Some Girls” recorded by Jameson Rodgers. He received the NSAI Award in 2019 for “Top 10 Songs I Wish I’d Written” for “Up Down” and was nominated for Music Row’s Breakthrough Artist-Writer of the Year. His songs have, also, been recorded by Jason Aldean, Jerrod Niemann, Justin Moore, and others. His own single, “Airplane” was named by Rolling Stone Country as one of the “10 Best Country & Americana Songs of the Week” and in 2022, CJ was among 5 in Nashville nominated for AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers) Rising Artist-Writer of the Year. As an artist, CJ was named Music Row’s Independent Artist of the Year in 2019.  He has played the Grand Ole Opry twice and has opened for Gary Allan, Chris Janson, Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd and others on the road. He is consistently releasing new music and working on a new project for release in early 2026.

CJ Solar & Rick Huckaby Full Band Experience

Jazz supergroup Something Else! is led by acclaimed alto saxophonist Vincent Herring and features some of today’s finest jazz musicians playing the most iconic, toe-tapping Soul Jazz classics. This septet delivers a high-energy mix of beloved rhythmic tunes and original compositions, all with fresh arrangements that keep the spirit of the genre alive and vibrant. The lineup draws from a rotating pool of top-tier artists, including trumpet legends Jeremy Pelt and Freddie Hendrix; tenor saxophonists Eric Alexander and Wayne Scoffery; guitar virtuoso Paul Bollenback; pianists David Kikoski and Mike LeDonne; bassists Essiet Essiet and Yasushi Nakamura; and drummers Lewis Nash and Jonathan Blake. Together, they create exciting, danceable, and unforgettable performances that celebrate the rich tradition of Soul Jazz.

River City Jazz Masters: Vincent Herring

Join us for a unique evening of live music and narrated stories of some of the most influential songwriters who lived in Laurel Canyon in the mid-60s and 70s. Similar to other legendary rock and roll neighborhoods of the same era like Haight Ashbury in San Fransisco or Greenwich Village in NYC, Laurel Canyon was a community of artists who would forge a new genre of music (Folk Rock) and forever change the look, sound and attitude of American pop music.