Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Adam Lenhard. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Adam , appreciate you joining us today. Have you been able to earn a full-time living from your creative work? If so, can you walk us through your journey and how you made it happen? Was it like that from day one? If not, what were some of the major steps and milestones and do you think you could have sped up the process somehow knowing what you know now?

Growing up in Atlanta, Georgia with my parents, older brother and older sister; I bought my first ukulele when I was 16 years old. When I was 17, I bought my first guitar and began teaching myself how to perform on both instruments. My parents and I moved to downtown Marietta, Georgia where my mom helped influence me to go busking for the first time. Busking throughout that summer in between Junior and Senior year of high school showed me what was capable through music and just how much joy I could spread to those around me. I was overjoyed with any chance to perform and had my very first paid gig at a Catfish boil down the street from where I lived after someone saw me performing at the farmers market on Saturday.

I graduated high school in 2018 and then attended Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama (just 2 hours away to be able to see my family!). Originally enrolled in Civil Engineering, I soon transferred into a new major – Biological and Agricultural Technology Management (BATMan). When the pandemic in 2020 halted my Sophomore year in college, I took the opportunity to practice more of my music while learning more about my major at the same time. In the spring of 2021, when the local restaurants began opening up again, I saw opportunities to perform all around town again. With my ukulele strapped to my back, I walked up Magnolia Avenue into each and every bar and restaurant on the main drag in Auburn asking if I could perform at their bar. I walked into a spot called Moe’s BBQ where I performed a quick song for the management team. They appreciated my effort, but said that my music wouldn’t fit their venue. Undeterred, I walked into another local restaurant called The Drafthouse, and I met the manager Claire. I asked her if I could perform a quick song for her and see if she’d like me to have her at her restaurant. As I performed ‘I Won’t Back Down’ by Tom Petty for Claire in the back alley of the restaurant, she smiled widely and booked me for a show right then and there. Soon after I was performing every Sunday morning at The Drafthouse from 9:00-12:00. Along with the help of Claire’s mentoring to learn the business of a bar, I continued to discover more gig opportunities at other venues and restaurants around town (always with my uke on my back) along with performing on campus and live on the radio with the local student radio station – 91.1 WEGL FM. During the summer of 2021, I earned some money by performing all around town and working part time at the campus transformation gardens where I grew hydroponic lettuce in an indoor shipping container retrofitted with LED lights. Weekly, we would deliver the lettuce we grew to the campus dining hall, The Edge. During one of our deliveries, I met some of the people in charge of planning events around campus where I quickly asked if they were interested in having any music at The Edge dining hall. Soon after, I was performing at The Edge alongside some fellow students on the lineup for the evening. I even performed out on the campus green in front of the football stadium where our school’s mascot – Aubie, jumped around and danced with me! This experience showed me just how much connectivity there is in the world. Whether it’s agriculture or music, life works better when it is all worked together.

Graduating college in 2022, I understood that I had learned and worked in both the agricultural and musical business during my college career. I realized that performing full time as a musician could be a possible, viable option after college. With that dream in mind, I went to the career fair and earned myself a job working at Bonnie Plants. Bonnie Plants offered me a job working in Oxnard, California, so, with my instruments and music gear packed up in the backseat of my car, I drove across the country to Southern California. Writing songs all along the way, I completed my month and a half ‘Odyssey’, as my family and I call it, and began my new job as a Trainee Station Manager. The job was a temporary position ~ 1 year where I worked in a ten acre greenhouse and outdoor growing space learning and understanding the ins and outs of how to run the station until I could then be sent off to another city to run a station on my own.

Quickly, I found open mics to attend in Santa Barbra (SB) and Ventura. I was thrilled again with the chance to perform again and, on August 9, 2022, spent my first birthday away in California performing at an open mic in SB. While I really enjoyed SB, I fell in love with Ventura from the first moment I stepped into the city. With a stage setup in the middle of Main St., I ran right up to it and sang my heart out for the first time to people just walking by. No equipment – just me and the uke up on that stage is a really fond memory of mine. After walking up and down Main Street, I saw that there was a brand new farmers Market opening up the following week. I was thrilled to see that there was an immediate opportunity to perform just like I had when I was in high school, so the following week I was out on that street performing for the first time at the Ventura Farmers Market. The next day I began to search and find an apartment right on Main St. within walking distance of the city, and so within the next few days, and with my ukulele strapped to my back, I walked up Main St. and visited the local bars and restaurants. Meeting a hostess, Michele, at a local venue – The Twist, she introduced me to the owner, Dave. I chatted with him about music and his bar and convinced him to “give me 45 seconds to show you what I got.” He took me to the stage in the back of the bar where I again performed “I Won’t Back Down”. I saw him smile from the moment I started the first line. Dave gave me a chance to perform at his upcoming, brand new showcase – ‘Live on Main’ at The Twist on Main (LoM). Soon I was performing at his showcase weekly, and just continued showing my face and passion. Any chance to get behind the mic was an opportunity to learn and grow more.

After performing again for another manager at Ventura County Brewing Co (VCBC), he let me my perform my first full show in Ventura. Meeting the owner of Tony’s Pizza – Bruce Barrios, I again performed for him private ukulele audition and he gave me the opportunity to perform in between the bands’ breaks on his Thursday reggae night at Tony’s. These short 15 minute sets really helped me discover more about my passion and spread the good word that I now lived and loved Ventura. I also discovered the grand opening of a new coffee shop called Robely Cafe, where I offered my services to perform on Sunday mornings for them. The friendly owners gave me a chance and I have been performing there every Sunday since April of 2023.

Back at The Twist, Dave sold the venue to another pair of owners – Kris and Michele. Soon after they became the owners, I asked if I could be the new host of Live on Main since Dave could no longer do it. I was grateful for the opportunity they gave me to host the showcase that helped me get on my feet in Ventura. Scouting out Open Mics and live shows all over Southern California, I found many amazing artists willing to perform at my showcase and helped grow it into a very friendly and artist nurturing environment. In April of 2023, I asked the owners if I could have even more responsibility at The Twist and insisted upon becoming the Director of Music Entertainment where I would continue to host Live on Main and have the ability to book all of the shows for The Twist. After receiving my offer for the job, I was thrilled to have the opportunity to book and manage ~50 artists each month to perform at The Twist. It was a rewarding job that gave me the chance to build community.

All throughout this, I was still working full time at Bonnie Plants. However, in late April of 2023, when the management asked me to finally relocate to Washing state – I refused. I quit my corporate job on April 17, 2023, and began to pursue music as a full time career. With Live on Main occurring every Friday, Robely on Sunday mornings, and a variety of venues win Saturdays, I was a unique position to feel a certain amount of stability alongside my music. I aimed at having consistent shows knowing that consistency breeds success.

For the past year I have been pursuing music full time, finding new venues, and very happy in my community. Recently, though, I have reignited my passion for agriculture. Discovering The Terrace Foundation, a non-profit, regenerative farm, based out of Santa Barbra, I just started a new job as the hydroponic farm director. I decided to leave The Twist after working hard to grow and expand their artist contacts and am grateful for the opportunity they gave me. Of course, I’ll still be performing all around Ventura and Santa Barbra county, but I’m happy with my choice to initiate change in my life to wrap myself in multiple passions.

Adam , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I got myself into music after feeling pretty sad and frustrated as a 16 year old boy in high school, as I’m sure most of us could have been! The ukulele gave me a chance to feel happy and an outlet to put my feelings out through. I like to write music pertaining to the earth with songs like ‘O Buffalo’ , ‘The Mountain Song’ , ‘The Grand Land’, and many more like it. In fact, I am working on recording my second album ‘The Great Outdoors’ to help promote sustainability and educate people on the environment around them. My shows are always very energetic and communicative. I tell stories about each song and how they relate to me. I also provide a ‘Musical Menu’ full of every song I know, allowing the audience to choose the next song that they’d like to hear.

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I have two mission statements that drive me:
1 – Educate people about their food system and environment through music
2 – Help reduce food deserts through the use of urban farming

Having recently obtained a new job that matches these values as well, I am proud to say that I am edging closer to these goals every day. I love music and I love the smiles and joy it brings to others. That being said, there is SO MUCH MORE that can be done in this world. I believe in the power of humanity to bring back the best aspects of the earth, and I believe I can help. Through the work at my new farm, I believe to have the opportunity to be both hands on in the back-end, farm work and making progress on my second mission statement, while also having the opportunity to reach out to schools and venues to help educate people through my first mission statement.

Are there any books, videos, essays or other resources that have significantly impacted your management and entrepreneurial thinking and philosophy?

The Alchemist by Paolo Coelho.

This book taught me about The Language of the World. Whether its music, agriculture, fashion, or anything in between, everything we learn and do is spoken through the same language. In the book, a young man named Santiago is off in search of his Personal Legend. I like to believe I am constantly in search of mine, and the music I’ve made and shared has helped me reach it. All the skills I’ve learned and accumulated have helped me become the man I am today, and these skills are able to be translated into different work environments. Now that I work again in both agriculture and music, my mind and skills can bounce off each other and be understood with a different perspective to better help the world around me.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://adammakes.weebly.com/boss-man-music.html
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bossmanmusic_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaoGD0pyMvxvk00PZaJe_TA
• Other: https://linktr.ee/bossmanmusic