Commercial Music Production alum performs with Gladys Knight

“With Nashville being a country music town, there were times I was turned down from playing gigs because I was not a country artist,” Huggins says.

“To be able to say, ‘I’m about to make my Ryman debut…me, a jazz artist from Nashville’ is beyond words. It’s extra special and really shows that when God closes one door, He can open another one,” he adds.

Huggins is the founder and C.E.O. of Muse Entertainment, which seeks to assist songwriters and musicians at the outset of their careers. The company performs services like music composition, recording production, mixing and music distribution. It is headquartered in Nashville, where Huggins was raised.

“With my company, I recently wrote an original song for a short film that will make its festival debut this summer, as well as scoring two more upcoming short films. The most exciting project I am beginning to work on is scoring a TV series, produced by a major production company, that will be debuting on streaming services soon,” Huggins says.

Huggins has released 10 solo albums to date, from Artistic Touch in 2011 to Christmas Without You, which came out last November. Most of these albums are available for streaming on Spotify. He celebrated one of them with a sold-out concert last December. Recently, Huggins became one of the National Museum of African American Music's (NMAAM) emerging artists. Through this program, he performs monthly at the museum in downtown Nashville. Huggins credits his time in CCM's Commercial Music Production (CMP) program for playing a major role in his professional journey. 

“I can sincerely say that CCM and CMP in particular played a major role in getting me to where I am now," Huggins says. "CMP prides itself in teaching you to fill your war chest with every tool you can, keeping you versatile and adaptable. The industry is so unpredictable; when one avenue is not working out, I can quickly pivot and make a way through another outlet, thanks to CCM."

“I would not be where I am today without Kim Pensyl, Tom Haines, and the entire CMP and CCM faculty, who poured so much into me. I am so blessed and grateful for their expertise, guidance and encouragement.”