Aspen Black Productions

Aspen is a professional performer with over 30 years of experience. She can hold the attention of audiences from 2-1000 and goes above and beyond to fit your desired theme and outcome for your event. She gets regular compliments on her song choice, vocal style, and instrumental talent.

Audience:
Her Golden Oldies theme lends itself well to senior adult and general community audiences who enjoy older music. She has a great rapport with all ages, but especially senior adults, and can adjust her performance to fit the audience, from able-bodied dancers to "chair dancing", singing along, clapping along, or just listening. In concert and daytime/evening activity settings, she tells small facts about each of the songs before she plays them, asks brief questions to help the audience relate more to the music, and encourages participation, from enthusiastic clapping /singing/dancing, to gentle connection through head nodding, patting the lap, tapping a finger or toe, or verbal responses. In themed party/wedding/anniversary settings, she can play a special song or two during a formal part of the ceremony or event, instrumental gathering music if wanted, and/or party/reception music for 30 minutes up to 2 hours (which is usually covers the partying timeframe for audiences who enjoy Golden Oldies!) For funerals or more formal events, Aspen fits her music to your desires, from reverent service music to a fun celebration of life. She can also create custom original songs for weddings, anniversaries, and funerals from the facts you give her about yourself or a particular person, couple, their love story, life story, etc. Once approved in the writing process, she will perform your custom song live at your event, and can also offer you a custom plaque with lyrics and a photo of the person or couple, and for an additional fee to cover studio costs, a full radio style recording of the song.

Booking:
During the booking process, Aspen will communicate with you to determine exactly what you want in terms of event focus, time, place, set length(s), song requests, and any special details. She can offer you a popular choice or package, or customize her performance to fit your specific needs. On the other hand, if you are unsure of exactly what you want, she can guide you toward musical choices that support your desired overall outcome. She will clearly communicate the price to you, which includes her travel fees and any added services you choose, when you complete your booking through the Gig Salad platform. Gig Salad typically asks for a deposit to hold the date and the balance to be paid after the event.

Preparation: After you book the event, you can generally forget it and expect Aspen to show up and do the job you asked for. On Aspen's end, she will spend hours, if needed, making custom changes to her core setlist to best fit the needs of your show. If you have requested one or two special songs that she doesn't usually perform, she will research them, learn the songs, create her bass and rhythm backing, create lyric videos (if it's an AV supported show), and memorize (or familiarize herself with, if not enough time to memorize) the song(s) so that she can "perform" the requested song(s) while looking up at the audience, rather than bury her face in a tablet or music book. She will also map the routing from her location to yours, select the outfit she will wear, and arrange for any travel logistics needed.

Day of Event:
Aspen will arrive 30 minutes-1 hour before her performance time to check in, set up, tune, and be ready to go on time. She will fill the entire time, being careful to not go more than a minute or two over or under her allotted time. This is out of respect for keeping everything else in your day or event on schedule. She will be dressed appropriately for your event. She uses a quality professional sound system (small to medium rooms use her smaller PA, while larger/outdoor spaces use her larger PA) and plays quality instruments. If your event is a party, wedding, anniversary, etc. Aspen can do light MC'ing throughout to announce special moments like a toast, special dance, or speeches. At the end of her time slot, depending on the event, she will briefly meet and greet with the audience and/or discreetly pack up and go depending what is in line with your type of event.

Special Options and Add-ons:
If you have requested any special options, Aspen will take care of the planning ahead of the event date, including communicating with you as needed, to make sure everything is ready on the day of your event.

What Aspen DOESN'T Do:
Aspen is dedicated to giving you and your audience a great experience. Therefore, she does not offer you things that she cannot do well. Those include: Except for a few specific songs that fit certain themes, no cover songs released after the mid-1980's. No hard rock, modern pop, modern country, 80's rock, 90's rock, 2000's music. Likewise, she is not suited to 1940's swing style, roaring 20's, blues, or jazz of any era. Basically, no songs in genres she can't play well on stringed instruments in the folk/Americana/country, oldies pop, oldies rock-n-roll, or old-time gospel styles.

FAQ:
Q: I know, or have heard/seen, that Aspen does original music and other kinds of shows that are not "Golden Oldies", and plays a lot for children and adults of all ages. Why is "Golden Oldies" and senior-focused shows all that's listed here?

A: Aspen does play other kinds of shows, however she chose to focus her GigSalad offerings on her events for seniors and those community members of all ages who like older well-known hits in the oldies/folk/traditional country/ and gospel styles. Too many offerings on GigSalad would lead to confusion for event planners and private individuals trying to book music.

Q: Why does Aspen quote different shows, or the same show in different locations, at higher or lower prices?

A: Each show or music segment is priced according to the time, effort, and skillset required to bring you an excellent performance that fits your exact plan or theme. Travel fees factor in as well, and gasoline and lodging (when required) fluctuates in cost. Beyond that, you are not just paying for the time Aspen is "on stage". Your final cost goes toward several things that, perhaps, some performers who may charge less don't have or do: 1) years and money invested in building solid instrumental and vocal skills, 2) over 30 years of polishing those skills on a variety of stages (including knowing how to read an audience & adapting on the fly to unexpected circumstances), 3) awards and radio charting that vets and validates Aspen's talent and skills, 4) vehicle upkeep and maintenance so that she gets to you safely and on time, 5) investment in quality instruments that sound good and PA equipment that is clear and full-sounding and has the wattage to cover the area you need covered, 6) behind the scenes time to create or customize your show to fit your exact needs, 7) performance clothing that is appropriate to your event (including costuming, when called for), and family-friendly, 8) songs that are memorized and "performed" (with small exceptions), not read from a tablet or book, 9) an upbeat, other-centered, can-do attitude (which is priceless!)

Aspen Black is an experienced entertainer who has been engaging audiences for over 30 years. Raised on folk legends like John Denver, Peter/ Paul/ & Mary, and the Kingston Trio, Aspen began singing with her mother as a child. She started music lessons at the age of six, learning classical violin followed by a variety of instruments, as well as voice training. She studied musical theater throughout her growing-up years, was in the Maryland Youth Symphony, and the HS marching and symphonic bands. She wrote her first full song at age 12 and taught herself guitar at age 16 from her mother's 1965 Folk guitar book. At 18-20 she was on a Nashville Record label and had two original songs playing on mainstream country radio. After than achievement, she went home to run a horse farm, teach elementary school, get married, and raise two children, all while writing songs and performing in a local and regional capacity. She met her mentor, and musical duo partner, Kerry Grombacher at a music conference in Albuquerque, NM and they have toured together several times a years since 2014 presenting cultural and educational concerts. Her original songs, As Cowboy As They Come and Born to be a Cowgirl, both rose to #1 on the Western Music Radio Charts. She won the 2025 IWMA Working Cowboy Song of the Year, the Western Writers of America Spur Finalist Award for Best Western Song of 2024, and gained mainstream country radio airplay again in 2025. Aspen was also a Top-5 finalist for 2023 and 2025 International Western Music Association Songwriter of the Year, 2023 IWMA Female Performer of the Year, 2024 Academy of Western Artists Western Country Female Vocalist, and 2024 Academy of Western Artists Western Country Single of the Year.

Aspen's shows are usually turnkey. You book it and she brings everything needed to make it happen. But, if you have questions or want specific details, read on.

Sound: In most cases, Aspen provides her own PA (one for small to medium rooms, or a larger one for large rooms/noisy crowds or outdoors). If your event is outdoors, the sound from her PA, when turned up loud, will carry about 100 feet in a conical shape from where she is set up. This is usually sufficient. If you need to cover a larger area, she does have some additional components she can add at an additional cost. Realize, she is not a full band and does not need a huge system to sound good for you, in the context of the type of music she provides.

In the case that the venue provides a PA, Aspen may be able to hook into it with little to no issue and that may be the best choice for your event. However, all sound systems are not created equally, nor is everything compatible with one another, so there may be cases that Aspen prefers to use her own setup even if a venue system is available. Rest assured, that Aspen, who is a sound engineer for 3rd Street Coffeehouse listening room in Roanoke, VA wants to give you the best sound possible for your event and will use whichever the best option available is to achieve that.

AV: Aspen's "Golden Oldies Sing Along" uses a TV or projector and screen to project the custom lyric videos for the audience to sing along with. Aspen prefers to use your TV (with an HDMI input). That is the easy, plug & play method. Her second choice is to use a projector and screen, yours or her portable one. She has a small screen for small rooms and a large screen for larger rooms (cafeteria or gym sized). Note: AV does not work well outdoors unless in a shaded area.

Stage area: If no AV is required, Aspen needs a minimum of 5'x5' in a small room, and 10' deep by 10-30 feet wide, depending on how large your room or area is. the width is mostly to spread the speakers apart so that she can get enough volume to cover the area without causing feedback. If AV is required, she needs a 5' deep by 10' wide area as a minimum. Typically, that means she can set up her 5'x5' area to the left or right of (or beneath) your TV, or put her projector and screen in that area. She is adept at fitting into a wide variety of areas, and in her other professional life (performing for libraries, schools, museums, and arts councils) she has played in everything from small meeting rooms and "between the stacks" (library bookshelves), to school gymnasiums, cafeterias, and outdoor locations. She has been on formal raised stages, floor areas designated as "the stage area", large opera houses (old time music halls) with 50-foot ceilings above the stage and auditorium seating, and even an IMAX theater! Most likely, Aspen will find a way to fit into your space without issue. However, if you have something odd about your space, its always kind to give her a heads up so she can work with you ahead of time to figure out what's best.

Lighting: No special lighting requirements.

Indoor vs outdoor: Aspen will perform in either setting. Outdoors is provided that the temperature and weather conditions are good enough for your audience to be comfortable out there. (Note, as mentioned above, AV does not do well outdoors unless in a shaded area.) A couple of things to think about if you are planning an outdoor event - if you provide a tent for the musician but no tent or shade for the audience, they will not stay around the area to enjoy the music. This is noted because many events from private parties to large festivals mess this up and people try to cram themselves under tree limbs and in the shadow of buildings to hear the music. Others just go inside and the investment you made in having music has been diminished or wasted. Also, one more note - many local ordinances require a permit for amplified music outdoors. This means it's not legal in many areas for Aspen to set up her PA on your patio, lawn, or town gazebo without a permit. Please check with local ordinances before booking outdoor music. Indoor music is generally allowable without a permit, unless it is very late in the evening or so loud that it disturbs others.