The first time singer Steve Ray Ladson took the “America’s Got Talent” stage, with a banjo in his hand, his self-described “Blackgrass Brothercana” music wowed the judges to such a high degree that Sofia Vergara said it was her “favorite music act of the whole season, for sure.”
Now, Vergara has doubled down on her love for the singer from South Carolina.
On Tuesday night, during the first round of the quarterfinals, the “Modern Family” star hit her golden buzzer to send Ladson and his band past the semifinals and straight to the finale.
The singer is officially the first act to claim a spot in the finale.
Here’s a look at his run (so far) on “America’s Got Talent” — and the career that has led him to this point.
Steve Ray Ladson’s ‘AGT’ performances
Ladson’s audition, featuring a performance of his original song “Back of My Truck,” has more than 2 million views on YouTube.
The singer’s style — what his website describes as a combination of “bluegrass and country-Americana with elements of R&B, hip hop, rock and soul” — had the “AGT” judges and audience on their feet.
“I like seeing things that I haven’t seen before,” judge and Spice Girl singer Mel B said. “And this I haven’t seen before.”
“AGT” judge Howie Mandel said he believed “Back of My Truck” was “100% a hit song,” and Simon Cowell noted that performances like Ladson’s are the moments when he really loves his job.
The support for Ladson continued during the quarterfinals.
After his band performed another original, “Boots Like Mine,” Vergara declared Ladson a “superstar” and hit her golden buzzer to immediately advance the act to the season finale.
Who is Steve Ray Ladson?
During his “AGT” audition, Ladson told the judges he has been pursuing music professionally for 15 years, though it has always been a part of his life in some capacity.
His father is a minister, and as a teenager, Ladson performed in gospel quartets, per Cola Daily, a news outlet based in Columbia, South Carolina.
Ladson’s music style — what he calls “Blackgrass Brothercana” — draws from his upbringing, which also included tending to a farm near his family’s church.
“I wanted to interpret it in a way that a lot of the younger kids would be able to understand the banjo and Dobro. You know, a lot of the younger generation’s not really into the bluegrass like that. They don’t really listen to the older model of music,” he previously told Cola Daily. “So I wanted to present it to the younger generation in a way where they can understand it and appreciate it.”
In addition to singing, writing and producing music, Ladson also plays 10 instruments, according to his website.
For the past decade, he has toured and collaborated with six-time Grammy winners The Blind Boys of Alabama, and with Robert Randolph and the Family Band, Ladson earned a Grammy nomination for his contributions to their contemporary blues album “Brighter Days.”
Ladson also recently played the lead role in the country music-themed Cirque Du Soleil show “Songblazers,” per Behind the Curtains Media.