A member of the Professional Tier, Simons is a drummer and music director who is part of CMA’s inaugural Touring Mentorship Program
By Cillea Houghton
For drummer and music director Cameron Simons, acquiring his vast skillset is a result of dedication and passion. “I’ve always loved music,” the multi-faceted musician tells CMA Close Up. “But for the longest time, one of my biggest insecurities was being a jack of all trades. Now, I’ve leaned into it being one of the things I’m best known for.”
A glimpse at Simons’ resume reflects his dedication to learning many aspects of the music business including professional drumming, music directing, playback engineering, and even lighting design. His impressive array of clientele ranges from Jake Owen to Megadeth. He started taking piano lessons in second grade and, unlike most children his age, he looked forward to practicing every day. Although training as a classical pianist, he was drawn to the drum set in fifth grade and was inspired to start his own band after watching “School of Rock” that same year.
“I’m a lifelong learner,” he continues. “There’s not really a way to learn all of the skills that I have without a natural affinity for it.” Growing up in a small town, he didn’t see pursuing music full-time as a viable career. Instead, he attended the University of Washington intending to become a dentist, achieving a degree in biochemistry with a minor in music. He joined the school choir and played in bars and churches all around Seattle. Though Simons committed to finishing his biochemistry degree, he still felt called toward music. “If I can figure out how to make a sustainable income and be in music every day, that’s the goal,” he recalls of his mindset at the time. “I knew that going to dental school would be really hard, but being a professional musician would be harder. So if I wanted to do this, I needed to work that hard at it.”
He moved to Nashville in 2017 and got a master’s degree in Commercial Music Performance from Belmont University. His career got a kickstart when a pop artist he was working with in town asked if he could run backing tracks for her. Simons quickly learned the software to be able to do the job, creating a new opportunity for himself. “Over the next few years, I recognized that there was a big need for people who were good at music, who spoke the language of music, but simultaneously understood the obsessively detail-oriented technology side of live music as well,’” he explains. “So, I started advertising myself as someone who could do that.” He soon started drumming and running playback for Country artist Hayden Coffman, with Simons offering to build a show intro track, design transitions between songs, and contribute live arrangement ideas for Coffman’s tour, marking his first official job as a music director.
His career ascended again when he was recommended to audition as a drummer for Owen, with that audition eventually leading Simons to become Owen’s playback engineer on tour in 2023. “You have to trust that you’ve laid those seeds and that they’re going to continue to open new doors for you down the road,” Simons reflects. Those seeds of opportunity continued to bloom, as Simons officially joined CMA as a Professional Tier Member in 2023, and has also joined CMA’s Touring Mentorship Program, a six-month program designed for early-career touring professionals to connect and learn from experienced professionals through real-world experience, one-on-one meetings and discussions. Simons acts as an integral participant in the program’s inaugural class within the Band Leader/Musician category.
“I’m definitely still at an age where I’m hungry for mentors,” Simons describes as what compelled him to apply to CMA’s mentorship program. “I want to be around people that have done this longer than me, that have worked with way more artists than me, and be able to ask questions, shadow, and sit in on stuff that they’re doing.” Simons was paired with Danny Rader, a multi-instrumentalist, songwriter, and music director who has worked with Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and others. “Danny is very committed to hiring as many musicians as possible, putting the work in their hands to really create an authentic product,” Simons praises.
Simon also notes that working with Rader has connected him to many other Nashville musicians, as well as attending events as a CMA Member. “You’ll get as much out of it as you put into it,” he says of being a CMA Member. “If I hadn’t put myself out there and taken the time to apply to this mentorship program, my CMA Member experience would have been less impactful. It’s a relationship business and I think CMA does a great job of trying to create these opportunities for different members to come together and meet each other.”
All photos courtesy of Cameron Simons.
