On Monday’s episode of Classically Cultured on Monday, 3/10 @ 6 p.m., Miss Be Haven speaks with Daniel Fears, a singer-songwriter, collaborator, and multi-instrumentalist. Daniel grew up loving a lot of different types of music. From the gospel and Christian music he was raised on, to the hip hop and R&B that informed his adolescence, and the classical music he studied at The University of Texas and Yale University. Daniel has a deep appreciation for soulful music of all genres.
Since his debut in 2020, Fears has sought out musical experiences of all types–from opening for R&B artists like Mac Ayres and BLK ODYSSY, to performing at Kerrville Folk Festival, or selling out shows with an 18-piece string orchestra. Daniel’s path has been (and perhaps will always be) an unconventional one.
His latest project, Close to Home seeks to bring all of his influences into one space. Close to Home combines Fears’ distinct melodic R&B sound (imagine artists like John Legend, Frank Ocean) with an ensemble of strings, voices, guitar, and piano, totally unplugged and recorded live. For his most vulnerable and genre-blending record yet, Fears enlisted the help of nine composers to reimagine his original music for this ensemble. He and his partners even crowd-sourced the funding for this project–raising over $15,000 in just under 4 weeks.
Daniel’s music can be heard in the award-winning indie documentary “Route To Emancipation” and the short film “If They Took Us Back”. The latter has been nominated for the 2025 NAACP Image Awards.
More information about Daniel Fears is available at https://danielfears.com/.