Today we’d like to introduce you to Tanner Whitt.
Hi Tanner, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My brother Peyton and I (Tanner) grew up with parents that LOVED music. At a young age, they purchased us a kit and guitar; we began playing in church and did that for over 15 years. It wasn’t until 2017 that we decided to create RAGS AND RICHES. From there, we worked behind the scenes for two years of performing no-shows and not releasing a single song.
In February of 2019, we released our first single, ‘Speed of Sound’ and played our first show. Within the first three months of the release, the song was over 500,000 streams on Spotify and the music video was well over 500,000 as well. That single song opened the door for us to perform 150+ shows in 35 states; needless to say, it was a dream come true. Since the launch of RAGS AND RICHES, our music has been featured in Target Ad’s, streamed over 1.5 million times and was named Champion of the 2019 Cincinnati, Ohio’s Battle of the Bands.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
It hasn’t been the easiest road at all. Just to name a few things that we have endured: While on tour, we slept in a van with all of our gear for over 68 days. The band has been turned down countless times in opportunities that would’ve changed the entire course of our career. (If you are getting into the music industry, have tough skin for sure!)
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am just one half of the adrenalized Pop-Rock duo RAGS AND RICHES, out of Lexington, Kentucky. I would say a few things that set us apart from other Artists is, we write our music, record our songs, play our live shows all to encourage others and spread positivity. The whole base of the band and who we are is to inspire a generation of dreamers. We want to see everyone we come in contact with reach their goals and helps others reach theirs along the way. We are extremely proud of our first single, ‘Speed of Sound.’ It is the song that “put us on the map” and gave us a ton of opportunities that we only dreamed of doing before that song. One of my absolute favorite moments was performing in Sacramento, California and someone running into the place we were playing and yelling, “Oh my gosh, you all are RAGS AND RICHES, I love your Speed of Sound song…” That was so inspiring to us, seeing our music reaching people all over the globe.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
There is honestly too many people to list to give credit, so I will just name a few… My parents Shane & Shelley Whitt. We would have never made it even this far without their love and support. Both sets of grandparents, they have helped us so much financially and we are forever grateful for helping us get RAGS AND RICHES off the ground. My fiancé Ariana for always uplifting me and keeping my head on straight. It so easy to ride the emotional rollercoaster that the music industry brings. Ashton Johnson has helped us countless times with the writing songs, behind-the-scenes work and planning/filming of our music videos. We could never have got through those extremely long video shoots without him. Our manager Doran Eichenberg for believing in us and pushing us to keep striving for excellence.
Contact Info:
- Email: ragsandrichesmusic@gmail.com
- Website: https://www.ragsandrichesmusic.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ragsandrichesmusic/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ragsandrichesmusic
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/_ragsandriches
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZGQmlljdoIB38zgEuXcCkw
- Other: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7mVlCjxLHAv9sO79hRP0hB
Image Credits
Red Photo – Anthony Tran Solid Black Background – Tate Chmielewski Silver and Orange Jacket Photo – Ariana Johnson
