Episodes
Episodes
Are you a creative dreaming of a second chance at music? Second Verse is the podcast that celebrates independent musicians, singer-songwriters, and artists who got started—or started again—after a more traditional career.
Join host Becky Boyland, a singer-songwriter and music branding expert, as she interviews indie artists who prove that success isn’t just for the young and major-label backed. Each episode dives into real-life stories of artists navigating their second verse in music—overcoming fears, finding their audience, and making their creative dreams a reality.
Becky Boyland exhorts indie artists that if music keeps asking for your attention, it can’t be separated from who you are. She invites listeners to reclaim their artistry with practical steps.
Melbourne artist Caddy Callaghan shares about returning to music after many “chapters,” including work as a primary school teacher, writing children’s songs, and pastoral care while keeping music “on the side table” until she picked it up again during Melbourne’s COVID lockdown.
Host Becky Boyland interviews Broadway drummer Clayton Craddock about building a sustainable music career through relationships and trust rather than skill alone. After years of networking, he landed touring work (Footloose, Tick, Tick… Boom!), began subbing on Broadway (including Rent), and eventually secured his first Broadway chair in 2009, later playing on multiple Tony Award–winning...
Songwriter Jesse Sterling Harrison shares how parenthood and instability sidelined music until divorce and later empty-nesting helped him return; he says he’s having more fun creating in his 50s than ever.
Belgian entrepreneur Vincent Van den Broeck says music has always been tied to meaningful moments in his life. Vincent describes being hit by a car on October 11, 2024, spending three weeks in a coma and months in rehab, where a friend’s music helped him “do more, take one more step.” Now fully recovered, he...
Kris Bradley spent over 20 years in music behind the scenes and building the music education company Produce Like A Boss before selling it and spending three years unable to write. After a spontaneous performance reignited her drive, she wrote her debut album, Midnight Church Aftermath, embracing an “Ameri-Kinda” sound and prioritizing authenticity over commercial...
New York-born singer-songwriter Harley DiNardo discusses leaving and returning to music after industry setbacks and life changes. He recounts early-2000s success, including two major-label-backed deals (Warner Brothers-backed Revolution Records and a BMG-backed label) that ended with both bands being dropped. He discusses overcoming negative self-talk, finding an audience independently, and his new single “LA to...
Songwriter and former entertainment executive Tom Sykes shares about his long, indirect path in music. Sykes recounts cold-calling legendary A&R man John Hammond, but eventually moving into the video and entertainment business, working at Embassy Pictures, Turner, WEA, Showtime, and later running New Light Entertainment, while continuing to write and record.
After the traumatic ending of his first marriage, Chris Aarons turned to songwriting for healing, found love again, worked in software, became a full-time dad, and kept releasing music while learning production. With his “reduce to the ridiculous” habit of daily 10-minute music sessions, he's kept momentum, releasing eight original songs and three covers.
Dan from Downingtown, an independent artist who performs behind a mask and built an alternative rock project, describes growing up near Philadelphia, moving to Boston as a touring drummer, then turning isolation and a friend’s advice into a new artist identity.
