Casey AbramsSpeaker and Booking Agent Information

Abrams pays tribute to Ray Charles on the last track, “Hit The Road Jack,” in which he performs in a slinky duet with fellow Idol finalist Haley Reinhart (produced by Steve Jordan).

Casey Abrams' tale is one of a natural-born performer, but it's also one of a dedicated student who worked tirelessly to achieve his goal of a career in music. He was born in Austin, Texas, to parents who were both professionals and quite creative. Pamela Pierce, Casey's mother, is a playwright and teacher who also sings and plays the piano.

Ira Abrams, Casey's father, is presently a teacher at Idyllwild Arts Academy, a prestigious private institution in the foothills above Palm Springs, California, that was crucial in Casey's musical development.

Casey recalls his boyhood home is filled with "music from the 1950s and 1960s." He was "hearing those blues riffs and tiny elements that make a song what it is" even back then. Casey relocated to Idyllwild when he was eleven years old and attended the Idyllwild Summer Arts program before enrolling in the academy.

He began playing the electric bass guitar in the sixth school and went on to master the guitar, upright bass, cello, drums, and even the sitar. He began recording symphonic arrangements of his own voice on his karaoke machine in middle school.

He describes the institution, which educates students from all walks of life in music, theatre, dance, visual art, creative writing, film, and multidisciplinary arts, as "a dream." Marshall Hawkins, his jazz and upright bass tutor, has worked with Miles Davis and Roberta Flack.

Casey adds, "He transformed my life." “Thanks to Marshall, I'm now a musician.” Casey's growth was profoundly influenced by his tremendous exposure to a wide spectrum of classic popular music. He waxes lyrical about Oscar Peterson and Thelonious Monk, as well as “the one tune that truly transformed me: Cannonball Adderley's version of ‘Autumn Leaves,'” which Miles performs on.

That is only a minor portion of his motivation. His primary inspirations are James Taylor, Freddie Mercury, AC/DC, and even Jack Black. In Austin, Abrams auditioned for American Idol.

Casey remembers, "When they picked me, I had a heart attack." “I thought to myself, 'This is the ticket.' I knew I could make it as soon as I got my foot in the door. I was overjoyed.” Abrams soon found himself in London, where he recorded his debut album.

“It was the finest experience, so much fun,” he says of working with Martin Terefe, who has worked with Jason Mraz, Train (the song “Soul Sister”), Mary J Blige, KT Tunstall, a-ha, James Morrison, Martha Wainwright, Cat Stevens, Jamie Cullum, and others. “I walked to Kensaltown Studios every morning, an incredible workshop full of musicians, writers, and producers.

I buzzed the large green door, walked up three flights of steps, and sat down on the enormous green sofas. It didn't seem like I was working on an album; instead, I was just having fun hanging out with friends and making and producing songs.

London is a really creative city.” Casey Abrams illustrates the easy comfort with which he worked with his partners and the resulting organic inventiveness. Even though his extraordinary artistic abilities and broad creative vision portend many great things in the future, his ultimate goal remains simple.

“I want to create music that people like listening to.” And he did it on his debut record, and he will continue to do so in the future.