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Robert Massard, better known as Rob to his friends and fans, is a solo singer-songwriter from the Greater Detroit Metro Area. He was born in and a resident of Mentor, Ohio until age 12 when his family moved to Northville, Michigan.
Intrigued by his brother Gus’ Gibson LG-1, at age 4, while Gus was away at war in Vietnam, Rob began to strum the open strings and marvel at the fantastic reverberations of sound that poured out of that acoustic guitar. At 7, he began guitar lessons in earnest and even took 2nd place in his first talent show.
Heavily influenced by Meet the Beatles, and A Hard Day’s Night, seeds of creative desire for the magic of music were planted.
By 16 Rob was the rhythm guitarist for his first band, Pegasus. After high school, he helped form an all-original band named Black Market. They were mildly successful locally, and creativity gave way to buds of songwriting.
Fast forward to 2016. His brother Gus, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer at age 66 and soon passed away. That same year, a close friend invited Rob into his home studio to help him record some of his song ideas and assist in the process. Rob released his first album, Rhythms of Consciousness in 2017 while learning and experimenting with sound and all the possibilities a recording studio offered. Driven to improve upon his first experience, song ideas flowed freely and he wrote and recorded at a whirlwind pace, releasing A Quiet Mind in 2018.
Rob’s style was evolving before his eyes. He had an ear for instrumentation and progressive music production. In the spirit of tearing down songs to the root to better understand the acoustic representation of what he had written and recorded so far, he remixed songs from his first two LP’s and reintroduced them on naturally (e-koo-stik).
Northern Lights was released in 2019 and more than ever, Rob was polishing his unique, folk rooted, musical presentation. Weaving in and out of genres almost effortlessly, still with a strong Folk base, but with new components of orchestration. Elements of New Age, Progressive Rock, Progressive Folk, Indie Folk, and Dream Pop live and breathe sometimes within the same song. No one genre fits Rob’s diverse style of music.
In early 2020, the pandemic descended on us like a fog and Rob went into his rehearsal portal to further experiment and craft his sound. In 2021 Thousand River Sun was released, led by the opus 12:26 minute song I Hang on Every Moment. This album was the first to include a cover song of another artist; Onward, by YES. Even more orchestration skill and style appear at every turn, as well as a much stronger vocal presence, with a significant focus on harmonies. He released the album on College Radio where it was very well received. In addition, Rob’s music earned several outstanding glowing album reviews.
Rob teamed up with David Roof from Roof Top Recording for his 6th and freshest album to date, Ascension. Dave brought a wealth of recording experience to the table and offered a completely different angle to the recording process. Ascension was released in June, 2022, and as many of the reviews state, this unique endeavor has become the trademark and unforgettable sound of Rob’s music.
This magical combination of textures of sound gives wings to what we used to think of as folk music and every song takes you on an inspirational journey that leaves you saying…… wow! What just happened?
Rob’s music forges paths of wonder and adventure. Listen and let your imagination soar!
PANCREATIC CANCER ACTION NETWORK