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Rod Phillips

Top Performer

Springfield, MO

$400 depending on travel.

Singing Pianist

Travels up to 120 miles

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Promotional video thumbnail 1 for Rod Phillips

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Rod Phillips, 30 sec guitar, vocal

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Rod Phillips Moore OK tribute May 28, 2013

Rod singing in Reno, NV Aug 2013

Photo by Nancy Smith-Blackwell

At the gazebo, Butler, MO

CD Cover Morning Has Broken

PR photo 1995 w guitar

Rosalia CD cover

rod with hat & finger sitting

4 Videos 2 Audio 9 Photos

Overview

Singer/songwriter/comedian; I play 13 instruments and bring a handful to each venue (unless traveling by air). My audience is anyone who'll listen to me sing. I play from a repertoire of 13 CDs, 5 instrumental and 8 songwriter CDs. By 2013 I completed 25 years performing in Branson, MO , and I am now traveling, as a solo primarily. A typical venue: playing piano/guitar/banjo/dulcimer/harp & singing, telling Ozark tall tales & family traditions. Coming off recent road gigs with MM Murphey ("Wildfire", Cowboy, recent #3 Bluegrass album); & Southwestern Pilgrimage (bandmate Randy Brooks, author of "Grandma Got Run Over By a Reindeer"! Yes, I sing it :).

Reviews

53 reviews

Rebecca H.

August 30, 2020

Verified review

Flexible and genuine

Rod was so great in his communication with me and coming to the rehearsal the night before!! He was so hard working and wanting to make our day so special. I would book with him again in a heartbeat!! Thank you so much!

Hired as: Cellist, Classical Pianist, Singing Pianist

Rod Phillips

Thanks, Rebecca and Chris- It was a joy playing for your wedding. Great blessings in your future together.

Kathy D.

December 9, 2019

Verified review

Rod Phillips did exactly what we wanted for our party!

Rod is a talented musician and a very nice man. He played the kind of music we wanted and the instruments we requested. We received many compliments. He even stayed to accompany a friend who was singing a song for me at the end of the party. I would use him again.

Hired as: Cellist, Harpist, Singing Pianist

Rod Phillips

Thanks Kathy. Your celebration event was a wonderful testimony to your contributions to the universities and your personal popularity. I have always liked James Taylor's "Secret of Life" and it was a good song to add to my repertoire!

Sharon A.

September 5, 2013

Consummate musician/showman/songwriter

Saw Rod perform a "pre-show" in Branson about a year ago. He was engaging, uplifting, fun, and quite the showman. His talent on multiple instruments, combined with an ability to involve a multi-generational audience, was obvious. This man really enjoys making music! I left feeling refreshed, and thankful that good musical experiences are still out there.
Saw Rod again three months later, when he performed with the Michael Martin Murphey band at the Oklahoma City Cowboy Christmas Ball. He soloed on several instruments, the most memorable being a beautiful harmonica solo in "Walking In a Winter Wonderland".

Hired as: Multi-Instrumentalist, Singer/Songwriter

Rod Phillips

Thanks, Sharon Austin! I have played house concerts on two occasions at your home in Oklahoma City. The reception and reviews I received were wonderful! I have also enjoyed playing concerts at your church, First Methodist, Oklahoma City... a memorable one with my friend Brian Hargiss, when we appeared as the comedy Christian duo, "The Self-Righteous Brothers"... ha! That was a good one. Brian is now doing missions work in St. Thomas, Virgin Islands.

Jeffrey S.

March 2, 2026

Verified review

Funeral Meal and Reception

A dear soul of our congregation loved accordion music. We scheduled Rod to play some accordion music, thinking it would be endearing and meaningful. Rod played the accordion, but provided so much more! He and his wife made themselves at home among us, he brought his piano and played music during the meal, and the accordion was incredible. Rod provided so much more than we could have envisioned. Five stars, and a thousand thanks!

Hired as: Accordion Player, Singing Pianist

Laura M.

January 2, 2026

Verified review

Wonderful Evening

Rod was great to work with. Very responsive with his communication. Arrived when he started and was very professional. Everyone enjoyed his playing and entertainment. Thank you!

Hired as: Singing Pianist

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Booking information

Price range: $400 depending on travel.

Languages: English

Gig length: 45 - 120 minutes

What to expect

An engaging, entertaining, inspiring, warm, intimate, nostalgic, funny, and sometimes intriguing look into a life of music and contemplation of the mysteries and miracles of life-- and attempt to make some sense of it through music.

About

Music is my life experience and my life expression. All my life I have been writing and learning songs and instruments as a passion and presenting them in performance. The performances have taken many expressions, from the choral and classical music of my youth, through the pop and jazz in my 20s, through theater performances and traveling in the USA and abroad. I have friends and groups I play music with but am most at home performing solo. My music repertoire is very broad but is all related to Americana-- the American experience. A venue within driving range allows me to bring 13 instruments and allows me to finish with a finale of "An American Portrait", which is 13 songs in 13 minutes on 13 instruments. Concerts may contain many Rod Phillips songs, or an assortment of Americana. The tone of the concerts are warm, intimate, funny. My audiences are sometimes church organizations or youth, so they are always clean and classy in content.

Additional booking notes

I play many types of venues, indoors and out, so my stage set up needs vary. I like a stage set-up that gives me space to set up a number of instruments: If traveling by land and bringing 13 instruments, I would need a 10 X 16 foot stage space, electricity, and stage lighting. This gives me room for my harp, cello, dulcimer, and piano, plus a mic on a stand for the guitar, banjo, mandolin, flutes, sax, and harmonicas. If traveling by air, stage space could be as little as 8 X 8 feet, with the mic on a stand for the smaller instruments and piano. When flying to a venue, venue must provide sound system, a certified digital piano*, and stage lighting.* I provide a wireless mic and wireless guitar device.
*{Piano must be either an acoustic piano that is properly tuned and amplified (with at least two microphones) or a digital, weighted-action 88 key (most contemporary churches have this type of digital piano).}

Services offered

Singing Pianist Banjo Player Folk Singer Guitarist Harpist Singer/Songwriter Classical Pianist Jazz Pianist Cellist Flute Player Accordion Player Harmonica Player Mandolin Player Saxophone Player Organist Bassist Dulcimer Player Multi-Instrumentalist Jingle Writer Singing Pianist

Upcoming booked events

June 2026

20

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

11:00am - 12:00pm

•

Sunrise Beach, MO

21

Sunday

19

Saturday

17

Saturday

Funeral/Memorial Service

10:00am - 11:30am

•

Willow Springs, MO

April 2024

13

Saturday

28

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

10:00am - 2:00pm

•

Ridgedale, MO

26

Thursday

Wedding Ceremony

10:00am - 11:30am

•

Ridgedale, MO

21

Saturday

12

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

12:00pm - 1:30pm

•

Springfield, MO

05

Saturday

10

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

5:00pm - 5:45pm

•

Point Lookout, MO

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

5:30pm - 6:30pm

•

Overland Park, KS

Friday

Corporate Event

4:00pm - 6:00pm

•

Joplin, MO

10

Friday

22

Friday

Dinner Party

6:00pm - 8:00pm

•

Bentonville, AR

January 2022

15

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

4:00pm - 5:30pm

•

Kansas City, MO

December 2021

23

Thursday

Christmas Lamb early evening

5:00pm - 8:00pm

22

Wednesday

Christmas Lamb early evening

5:00pm - 8:00pm

October 2021

22

Friday

Cultural Event

3:00pm - 5:00pm

•

Columbia, MO

September 2021

25

Saturday

Festival

5:00pm - 7:00pm

•

Leawood, KS

11

Saturday

Accordion German/Sinatra reunion

6:00pm - 10:00pm

July 2021

31

Saturday

14

Friday

Wedding Reception

6:00pm - 8:30pm

•

Ridgedale, MO

April 2021

14

Wednesday

29

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

1:00pm - 2:30pm

•

Bella Vista, AR

December 2019

07

Saturday

11

Friday

Corporate Event

1:00pm - 3:00pm

•

Springfield, MO

05

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

7:00am - 11:00am

•

Morrilton, AR

June 2019

22

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

4:30pm - 5:15pm

•

Branson, MO

22

27

Saturday

Wedding Ceremony

3:30pm - 5:30pm

•

Springfield, MO

April 2017

23

Sunday

(from Public Relations materials)
As a former New Christy Minstrel, Rod's folk roots are apparent in his choice of music. But Rod Phillips' performances most often feature his own songs, taken from eight songwriter CDs and music written over 4 decades. In his concerts, every song is introduced or framed with an interesting tale to accompany it. The result is an experience intimate and warm, drawing in the audience and placing them in the middle of the story or mood of the song... comments from the listeners often describe that the song felt like it was their own experience or emotion. Love songs "I Love You From the Inside Out" or "You Would See a Hero"; songs about the moving experiences of parenthood: "Blossoms of May" and "My Old Green Truck"; the struggles of trying to establish a career: "Star In My Eyes"... and meeting unusual people: "Hotsy Totsy Man" and "End of the Road" are memorable examples of his songwriting.
And then, at times, Rod Phillips has an astonishing reach into styles and eras of music. He can play classical piano (Bach, Rachmaninoff, Chopin), jazz standards, music from the Big Band era, the Great American songbook and rousing ballads in the Cowboy and Americana style; or will pick up a mandolin or banjo and strike up a mountain or Ozark tune, with stories about his "hillbilly" grandparents thrown in. The North Texas jazz experience is apparent in his improvising, and his ease and knowledge of the American musical repertoire is far-reaching also, from Lerner and Lowe to Rodgers and Hammerstein, Cole Porter, and George Gershwin. He played piano for "The Fantasticks" when he was 15 years old and then played the part of The Boy (Matt) at the age of 29; produced musicals, wrote original drama productions (The Christmas Lamb, Adobe Rabbit), and appeared as lead characters (H.M.S. Pinafore and The Fantasticks), danced (Fiddler on the Roof), directed the orchestra (Oliver) and reproduced electronic midi scores of Victor Herbert and Cole Porter musicals for performance. With all of this music to draw from, Rod Phillips often throws in a ditty from something, say, "Never Say No" from The Fantasticks, to lend a little lightness or color to the evening. His voice is a light, lyrical tenor that people often say is reminiscent of an Irish tenor... or John Denver. Understandable, since he starred and produced a John Denver memorial show for 3 seasons in Branson, Missouri. Also as a band member from 35 years ago for Michael Martin Murphey, he has a working knowledge of more MMM songs than anyone alive, other than perhaps Michael himself!

Influences and inspiration

New Christy Minstrels, Peter, Paul, and Mary, the Kingston Trio; John Denver; Dan Fogelberg; James Taylor; Simon & Garfunkel; Michael Martin Murphey

Setup requirements

electricity

sound system (if air travel to event)

stage lighting or spot

10 X 20 foot stage area if traveling by land

8 X 8 foot stage area if flying to venue

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