Nashville: Kirbi & Carl Ray Hopper

Roger the Wild Child Show

On this episode of Roger the Wild Child Show: Nashville edition, we are joined by singer/songwriter Kirbi and country music artist, Carl Ray Hopper!

KIRBI

An emerging star, Savanna Kirby is set to burst onto the scene and into the speakers across the country. Recently compared to elite vocalists Mariah Carey, Carrie Underwood, Whitney Houston, and Demi Lovato, Savanna credits her sixth grade Show Choir Director, who heard her natural talent at an early age and guided her and her parents to pursue a future on stage. Utilizing school and recreation programs, she developed her voice through her teen years. Growing up in Florence, Alabama, across the river from Muscle Shoals, she emulated the sound of Muscle Shoals icons Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Percy Jackson and many others.

Capitalizing on incredible choir teachers, Savanna developed vocal basics and spent hours perfecting every note outside of class. An introspective person by nature, Savanna took it upon herself to seek out opportunities for additional individual lessons to gain multiple perspectives on how to improve her range, tone, and vocal strength throughout high school. Additionally, Florence High School offered classes in music recording, song writing and stage performance giving her opportunities to develop the foundation of her career.

Dedicated to a well-rounded life, she remained focused on her education and attends Troy University where she has continued to be a part of multiple performance ensembles while studying Kinesiology. As she approaches her graduation, her talent was discovered in Nashville and signed with Ablaze Entertainment Inc. to develop her brand. Since her signing, she has been featured in numerous magazines, pod-casts, and radio interviews in support of her upcoming debut release single scheduled later in 2022 with additional single releases to follow. Savanna is working with world renowned producer Jeff Huskins, noted Dolby Atmos Mix Engineer specialist, producer and musician that has worked with artists including Clint Black, Jason Aldean, Bruno Mars and many more and who has helped shape Savanna's sound and brought her vocal prowess to the forefront of catchy productions.

As she enters the summer of 2022, her name is heard

CARL RAY HOPPER

Birmingham Alabama native Carl Ray Hopper didn’t pick music, musicpicked him. Son of Hayes Hopper, renowned saxophone player of the Tiki’s, Brenda Lee, and Loretta Lynn, took Carl Ray on the road as a babywhere he was bitten by the music bug at an early age. He ended up this way watching his daddy play because the rhythm is in the blood. Hestarted playing bass guitar when none of the other kids that wanted to start a band in the neighborhood had one.

Soon after he was gigging in bars way under-age and played in several popular groups that started having a big draw. A touring band from Texas asked him to join their group and the next day he was on a greyhound to Fayetteville NC, where he was picked up by a crew member and taken straight to a show, and then toured relentlessly for years. After returning to Alabama, he soon joined Austin Hanks and “The United”, moving to Nashville for the first time excited to play country songs he had written over the years. He then got an unexpected call from Mars Electric, another rock band Ed Roland of “Collective Soul” had signed to Atlantic Records,using the same production team as “Matchbox Twenty” before John Kalodner the “God-Father“ of A & R, signed them to huge deal with Columbia Records where they had years of top 40 success. This kept Carl Ray busy touring with Stone Temple Pilots, Vertical Horizon, and opening for Motley Crue, just to name a few. Since then, he has worked with several artists as a touring bassist….name dropping upon request.

On August 7th, 2018 his life was changed forever after being struck by a negligent driver on his Harley Davidson. This tragic accident left him