We caught up with the brilliant and insightful James Davis McAllister a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
James, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Risk taking is something we’re really interested in and we’d love to hear the story of a risk you’ve taken.
“At 18, I faced a pivotal choice: follow the traditional path of prestigious drama school offers, or chase the raw, unpredictable energy of touring with a band. I chose the latter, a leap into the unknown that defied conventional expectations. For nearly two decades, the road was my home, the stage my classroom. However, the birth of my daughter, Haven, brought a new chapter and a need for stability. That’s when Heart Of Haven Entertainment LLC was born.
This wasn’t just a career change; it was a complete reinvention. Leveraging my years of industry experience and passion for artistry, I transitioned into artist development and management. Building this company from the ground up has been incredibly rewarding, allowing me to nurture talent and support artists in a meaningful way.
The risks I took early in my life, the lessons learned on the road, and the unwavering dedication to my family have all contributed to my success. I’m honored to have been recognized as the local Business Person of the Year for 2023, 2024, and 2025 by Alignable, a platform connecting over 9 million businesses. This recognition is a testament to the hard work, resilience, and the ‘Heart of Haven’ that drives everything I do.”
James, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?
Im someone who is forever yearning for growth and learning. I come from a broken home of abuse and addiction. I’ve made a lot of mistakes but I’ve tried to learn from each and everyone of them. I got into my industry as a very young man at age 4 as that’s when the seed was planted by my mother as she used to manage a very prominent country music venue. So I believe thats when I was destined to be in the music industry. I started out at 16 as a vocalist in a band and throughout the next 15 or so years I continued to do so spanning over 12 different bands of all genres being a frontman/lead vocalist. My daughter Haven being born seven years ago was the catalyst that made me step back from the road and being a frontman to starting my artist development management company Heart Of Haven Entertainment LLC. With this company ive done everything from image and branding to tour booking and management and everything in-between. I’m most proud of being able to say I truly transcend genres having been predominantly in the metal/rock scene as a vocalist I’ve been able to shift into all genres where I now am mainly working with pop,hip-hop artists. I’m an artist first so my main focus and concern is artist to be comfortable and to have a safe place to grow and learn from. I’ve helped curate and launch over 500+ artists careers across the nation. Garnering myself local business person of the year 2023,2024,2025 via alignable.com the largest social media platform for business’s in the world with over 9 million business’s actively using the platform. To go from high school drop out to this has been something I use as not only motivation but a reminder that being yourself is always the best policy.
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
I had to make a huge pivot around 2018 where as I was predominantly working with rock and metals artists. Well there was a huge shift especially after covid to where the rock and metal scene had all but became extinct especially on the local/regional markets.. So I had to make a decision to either continue down that road or pivot and dive head first into the RnB/Rap/Hip-Hop/Pop scene. It was a true shocker to me as little did I know I had found my home. I may be the oddest duck youll see within the scene as I didnt change a thing about how I do business or act. I stayed true to myself which allowed my authenticity to shine through as I always say fit out not in. Its been the best decision of my professional career and I wouldnt take it back for anything. Of course I miss what I had done both as a performer and business owner for the past 15 or so years. I suppose at the end of the day it all goes back to the notion of “Darwinism” you either adapt or die and it truely is a battle of attrition where only the strong survive. It also took me out of my comfort zone and allowed me to be the odd one out in terms of culturely and professionally which has led to my business growing faster or healthier than ever before.
Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?
My resilience is something that surprises myself at times. I’ve had every obstacle imaginable thrown my way. Ranging from addiction to homelessness to health issues. One thing I’m extremely proud of is having been from a predominantly metal/rock background I was able to pivot and step into an scene and genres hip hop,rnb,pop I otherwise had no prior experience with. But I was able to do it seamlessly and was able to maintain my character and my identity not changing or trying to be anything I wasn’t. In fact it was the best decision I’ve ever made. and to reiterate what I said earlier its shown myself my willingness to learn and my eagerness to help those that are astrocsized by daily confines due to the melanin or culture in which they come from. To be honest my whole story as with most careers has been a non stop story of resilency and overcoming the odds. Tragedies into Triumphs.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://oh-ms.fandom.com/wiki/James_Davis_McAllister
- Facebook: https://m.facebook.com/people/James-Davis-McAllister/100092488074484/
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgXyGRkdyfwxkyyLteouU2g
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/heart-of-haven-entertainment-sebring
- Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/james-mcallister/oceans-of-atrophy-that-awkward-moment-when-1
