#PeopleFirst Friday: Ashlar Sargent
When you ask Warehouse Operations Manager Ashlar Sargent how he developed a love for music and performing, he quickly mentions how he “grew up around music.”
“My dad was a roadie for years, touring as a sound tech or guitar tech with bands like Metallica, Aerosmith and AC/DC,” Sargent said. “I grew up beside stages, watching singers, watching performers, and always listening to music. It always felt like one of the coolest things I could do.
“I could always express myself through the music I listened to,” he continued. “Writing and performing music just became a better way to express what I was really feeling. As life’s experiences continued to pile up, it became more and more of an almost necessity and need to go out and create music.”
While music coursed through his veins throughout his adolescence, it wasn’t until Sargent got to high school that he began performing.
“I started singing when I was in high school, and would do talent shows,” he said. “Eventually I picked up the guitar because I couldn’t find anyone to play with me, and I wanted to go out and play music. When I got to college, I started performing shows, and when I got back from college, I started booking all around town.”
One of Sargent’s first performances was at a pizza restaurant in Cary, N.C.
“I still remember that first show. The check was for maybe $100,” he laughed. “I was a hard negotiator with no context to work with. It was a blast. After that, I wanted to perform again so much.”
With a style that is best described as “Blues Rock,” Sargent’s solo performances (he has 70 on the books in 2023 in venues across North Carolina) are typically acoustic sets, with a mixture of originals and covers, though he prefers to just sing when given the chance.
“My vocals drive most of the blues rock feel because they’re gritty, and that bodes well for that genre,” Sargent said. “If I can put down the guitar though, I will. When I first started performing, I would sing a capella, but then I figured out that wasn’t a super lucrative or widely accepted performance format.”
Sargent’s “big break” almost happened in 2016 when he auditioned for American Idol, just a few months after he started performing at open mics regularly.
“The audition was in Asheville and there were lines for miles,” he recalled. “I sang an original song, and they asked if I had a cover to compare it against. I sang “Shed Some Light” by Shinedown. The producer eliminated the two girls who sang with me and ended up handing me the producer’s ‘Golden Ticket.’
While he didn’t end up getting cast for that season, there’s always a chance that Sargent could end up on a televised singing competition in the future.
“I get an email from The Voice about once a year about trying out and I just haven’t gone back,” he said with a grin. “Who knows down the road what could happen?”