RODNEY
DUNTON

At four years old, my dad took me to the Bahamas for the first time. I saw a steel drum band and couldn't understand how music was coming from the cans. At that moment I was captivated and knew what I wanted to do...I wanted to make that sound.

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After that, the discipline of learning how to play kept me focused and out of trouble. I grew up being influenced by the music of Ray Charles, Isaac Hayes, Barry White, Stevie Wonder, Earth Wind & Fire, Journey and Rush.

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I attended Mount Saint Joseph's high school in Baltimore City. As I was so entrenched in the music program in high school, I had the opportunity to audition for a national youth orchestra, with which I travelled internationally performing in concert halls and amphitheaters in Europe. 

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Once graduated, I received a scholarship from Hampton University in which I didn't major in music but performed in all the major branches of the music department: gospel choir, marching band, jazz band and also part of a student-run band that preformed at corporate events in and around the Hampton Roads area. Out of all those musical experiences, the time in the marching band had the most influence in my playing. Since graduating I've had the pleasure of performing with regional and national artists. These collaborations continue to flourish and I am greatly humbled by these experiences.