David Payton

David, was playing guitar & singing in church at age 6. At age 8 he lost his father in an accident. At 10 he won regional talent shows, & was sitting in with country bands in clubs until age 11, when his mother suddenly died. His oldest brother took him in, and at age 13, David's first rock band was featured on David Letterman’s TV show.

In high school, David was Conrad Birdie in "Bye-Bye Birdie", & Tony in "West Side Story", winning the school's Best Actor Award.

At 17, David started touring full-time as vocalist & lead guitarist with national Christian recording artists including: "Eternity", "Cruse Family", "David Teems & The Calling", "Free Fare", and Grammy Award winners "Mylon LeFevre & Broken Heart". David was featured on the Grammy-nominated "Sheep In Wolves Clothing" album and concert video.

In 1991, David recorded his first solo CD, "I Got Wise", released nationally on Refuge Records. His songs were also included on the acclaimed worldwide release, "Heavenly Blues". This was followed by continuous nation-wide touring as a concert artist, youth speaker/worship leader for the next 12 years. His high-energy stage show, edgy humor & poignant life story kept him in high demand for youth and other events.

David has performed in 48 States, 5 Canadian Provinces, Mexico, Jamaica, Italy, and Israel. He has shared the stage with Christian greats: Amy Grant, Michael W Smith, Newsboys, Bob Carlisle, Phil Keaggy, Petra, The Gaithers, and many more.

As lead guitarist/vocalist of U.S. Beat for over 3 years, David also performed for Microsoft, CNN, Nokia, Georgia Pacific, the Sugar Bowl and many others. He performed for over 2 dozen State Governors at Gov. Sonny Perdue’s Governor’s Ball

Currently, he is a member of PlayRight Productions doing "Smoke on the Mountain", "Cotton Patch Gospel" & "Sanders Family Christmas" at various theaters and venues around Georgia. PlayRight is a professional musical drama company with an ultra-talented cast of seasoned actors, singers and musicians. Today, David is also a freelance singer/songwriter and is in the initial stages of recording his second CD.