2Adam12

The problem with rising acoustic talents is that a lot of them sound the same; but there is no mistaking the sultry sounds of Adam Payne. With a smile and sound as big as his afro, Adam entertains full crowds with his fusion of Funk, R&B, Folk and Acoustic. There’s no denying his musical talents…so the question is who is he?

Adam is about as eclectic as his sound. He was born in Lynn, MA to an Italian mother and African American father. In the late 80s, Adam and his family moved to Sarasota, FL. By the age of 8, Adam drew his musical inspiration not from haughty music teachers, such as Mozart or Beethoven, but from Saturday morning cartoons, Sonic the hedgehog and Mario. Adam picked up the piano as he mimicked the music from cartoons and video games. During his senior year of High School he took on the guitar and the drums.

Although music is a major part of who he is, there’s much more to him than that. Adam earned a B.A. in Psychology with a Minor in Statistics and was a founding father of the Eta Psi Chapter of Pi Kappa Phi at the University of Central Florida. He continued on to earn a M.A. in Industrial Psychology from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte.

Payne has shared the show-bill with artists ranging from Ben Harper and The Avett Brothers to The Pharcyde and members of the Wu-Tang Clan. He has collaborated with Artists all over the globe, and lends his writing, production and vocal talents to projects of all kinds, including producing and composing the music for a documentary film about the Rwandan Genocide entitled 'Coexist.'

Adam is also active in the community, and supports a myriad of causes. Payne is the founder of the Benefit for Jane, a cause which raises funds and awareness of Kidney Cancer in honor of his late mother and is sponsored by the Kidney Cancer Association.

On three separate occasions, Adam was featured on CBS Channel 4 Boston's 'Sundays with Liz Walker' and he was also generously recognized in the Boston Globe. Payne was also featured in Sonicbids' 'Sonic Blog,' in which he speaks about his success in utilizing Sonicbids as an effective tool for his music career. http://sonicblog.sonicbids.com/adam-payne. In addition, Payne recently attended the MIDEM Music Conference in France on behalf of Sonicbids where he spoke on a panel about brands and their interest in independent artists. In addition, Delta Airlines featured Adam's song "The Way it Goes" on their in-flight radio station and in 'Sky Magazine.'

These days, Adam can be found vibing out solo, or with the full band, 2Adam12.