Spencer Ludwig

“The story begins with a trumpet,” says trumpeter, and now, singer-songwriter and solo artist Spencer Ludwig. More specifically, his journey began with a trumpet during his senior year of high school. He initially found inspiration in trumpet player Miles Davis, but as his career progressed, he found inspiration in music from all decades.

When he was younger, Spencer thought he would grow up to perform jazz or teach locally. After joining the band Capital Cities and finding success there, he realized that if he wanted to, he could become a global musician. During his time with the band, he traveled around the world multiple times and began to write his own music. That led to a record deal with Warner Brother Records and allowed Spencer to pursue his own solo career, full time. “I’ve been on that journey since 2015. Now I’m an independent artist by choice and I’m really enjoying the creative freedom that comes with it,” Spencer confirms.

Traditionally, trumpet isn’t the most utilized instrument in the pop world. Spencer finds the challenge of fitting trumpet into his music to be inspiring. “The trumpet will always be in my music,” Spencer says. “I like to play with how the trumpet is used; sometimes it’s just to take a solo, sometimes it’s used as more of a background, supportive instrument, sometimes it’s the main melody you remember.” No matter how it is utilized, it’s a part of any song he does because the trumpet section is what makes a song completely his.

However, the trumpet doesn’t dictate his entire songwriting process. “I don’t want the song built around the trumpet, because I know the trumpet part will be strong,” Spencer elaborates. As someone focused on continually improving himself and his skills, songwriting has been his priority for the past three years. In addition, he has been experimenting with keyboard, bass, guitar, producing and programming, and writing the song’s melody. Spencer finds the song’s base to be the most difficult part of the song, and once that is completed, he finally adds in the trumpet section.

Fittingly, Spencer’s latest single is titled “My Trumpet” and features Mexican rapper MC Davo. The catchy song was intended to capture the feeling of a show Spencer went to in New York and the night’s imagery in song form. Spencer’s number one Spotify listening audience is in Mexico and the song had a natural Latin feel, so Spencer reached out to MC Davo to ask to collaborate. “It happened in a very modern way through email. I sent him songs, he said he liked it and then he sent back his rap,” Spencer remembers. The two didn’t actually meet until they filmed the song’s music video in Mexico.

To Spencer, the main purpose of his music is to perform it live. “That’s my church, that’s my sanctuary. The peak of any moment in my life is always the performance - the show,” he says. Whether it’s a small, corporate performance or festival with 10,000 attendees, Spencer never takes the opportunity for granted. His shows are high energy, and his biggest goal is that everyone leaves his show feeling like they’ve had the time of their lives, himself included.

Spencer has just as much fun as his fans during a performance. His favorite performance of all time, spanning from his Capital Cities days to his performances as a solo artist, was his performance at this year’s Bonnaroo Music and Arts Festival. “Now that I’m a solo artist, you never know who’s going to show up,” he laughs. He had no idea what to expect going in, but the crowd was unlike any audience he had ever played for before. By the end of his set, he was crowd surfing and playing the trumpet... at the same time.

In the next few years, Spencer hopes to release his first solo album and have a headlining tour. And as of right now, he’s on track to do exactly that. He’s been working on his first solo album for a long time, but hasn’t felt that it was the right time to release it. “If I wanted to release the album today, I could, but I don’t think there’s an audience large enough that is aware of my existence. I have to work on getting the word out there that I’m doing what I’m doing. Once people have heard, then I’ll put out the album,” he says. As he waits for more momentum with his music, he continues to write and create. The course of the songs on the album are continuously changing as he writes new songs that he feels fit him better. While Spencer’s fans wait for his first album to debut, Spencer promises that Instagram is where to find the most up to date news. His phone is a direct link to him, so in addition to serving as a page to post updates, he likes to connect to fans there through direct message. The platform is also where he expresses himself through fashion, something he has always been into, but doesn’t believe became cool until recently. “My appearance goes hand in hand with how I’m feeling about myself and the world; oftentimes, my look will change as change occurs in my life,” Spencer explains. And with big plans for his future, it’s certain that the change will keep coming.