Meet Zak Webb

We were lucky to catch up with Zak Webb recently and have shared our conversation below.

Zak , we’re thrilled to have you sharing your thoughts and lessons with our community. So, for folks who are at a stage in their life or career where they are trying to be more resilient, can you share where you get your resilience from?

My resiliency comes from life itself. I’m definitely no stranger to struggle. After losing my parents as a young man and taking responsibility for the well being of my special needs sister, it became apparent that I must tackle any obstacles in the path of my success. In order to learn from challenges, we really have no choice but to face them head on.
As I moved through adversity, I realized that I was succeeding and had the strength within me to deal with anything that came at me.

Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?

I’m a singer songwriter and entertainer from Waco, Texas. I’m a multi genre artist but lean towards Americana Soul when asked to choose a genre.
I was brought into the world by Carolyn and Charles Webb on in 1993 and raised in the heart of Texas along with three siblings. 
I don’t remember ever not singing or performing in some way, My parents were both heavily involved with our local music community and ministry. Taking to the stage early in life, I entertained crowds at various church and local events. I’ve always felt more comfortable and alive on stage than anywhere else.
Tragically, my mom passed in my arms when I was 16 years old and my dad followed a few years later. These series of events and the struggles that accompanied them made for a very difficult season of life.
I realized that I was truly on this earth with no parents but did have a sister with special needs that I needed to help take care of.
I felt I had nothing positive but my passion so I enrolled myself into college where I met my then roommate who also had a deep love for music. We combined our talents and founded a pop duo known as TYME (Two Young Men Entertaining). 
That duo disbanded in 2017, but not before I met my current manager who coached me in the direction of becoming the full time musician I am today. I worked solo for a short while honing my skills and adapting to the change in my performance style. At that time, most stages with live music were often in small venues accustomed to various forms of country music so just getting the job was a job but all I ever need is the chance and I took full advantage of every one I had. I could play some country music but I had so much more in store. The diversity of my music seemed to pair well with the diversity of most audiences.
In 2018, I formed my band and began performing more, releasing music; building a diverse fan base and discography of multi genre songs. I also met and married my wife Jaclyn, the most beautiful and unbelievably supportive woman I could have imagined.
With her encouragement, I quit the 4 jobs I had been juggling. to dedicate all my efforts to my music career. I’ve spent years practicing, polishing and performing as a full time entertainer and it’s been incredible.
I was recently named 2024 International Singer Songwriter Association Vocalist of the Year and currently recording and performing full time from solo to a five piece band. I love traveling to new places and meeting new people through music along my journey.
I never take my fans for granted and try to make personal positive connections with others every chance I get. My desire to make a positive impact on the world around me is as big of a passion as music is to me.
Although it would be nice, I don’t need everyone to like everything I do, what I do is for those who need or like it. I don’t dwell on everyone relating to every song I write when I release it, My desire is for someone to hear the one they relate to when they need it.
I’m extremely blessed to have the opportunity to share my gift with others. Music and love are both very powerful and I have more than enough for everyone.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?

Of course natural talent and learned skills are important factors when pursuing a music career, but defining what “making it” is to the individual artist needs to be established. Having a clear vision of goals and steps to achieve them is a solid foundation to build on. If we don’t know our own definition of success then how will we ever succeed?

It’s crucial to put those steps in motion with action staying focused on achieving those goals as we navigate the industry. With digital platform and technology advancements, we have to be dedicated enough to our craft to not only create and record music, book shows, travel and perform live but also develop skills sets needed to maintain and use social media and digital platforms effectively.

The music industry is confusing, frustrating and difficult. Artists face many challenges and even more disappointments. It’s important that we as musicians develop strong resilience by accepting that the path of our career choice is inevitably rough but essential to reaching our goals. I think keeping ourselves grounded in reason why we do this is essential. Placing the joy for our passion at the forefront of our walk helps move us forward when things feel impossible.

So my advice to anyone fresh in their music journey is to have a clear career vision, driven dedication and rooted resilience.

All the wisdom you’ve shared today is sincerely appreciated. Before we go, can you tell us about the main challenge you are currently facing?

I don’t feel it’s a huge secret that funding is probably the biggest challenge for independent artists. From recording, mastering, distributing, promoting, marketing to equipment, vehicle maintenance, travel and staff; artists are constantly investing in their business. All musicians have personal life expenses just like everyone else as well.
There are various resources such as grants, sponsors and investors that artists can look into but let’s be real, most of us have to find a way to do it alone before anyone would be interested and confident enough to put money behind us. If you don’t buy into yourself, don’t ever expect anyone else to.
I’ve always known if I want something, I have to work hard for it. Nothing is owed to me, I’m not entitled to anything and if I want or need something then I’ll put in the necessary effort to get it.
Live performances and merchandising are things I try to focus on heavily considering everything else grows or plateaus from those profits or losses. Knowing where you sit financially with each show is very useful when determining what you need as far as compensation to put you in a profit zone. It’s also fundamental that you pay yourself. After you’ve paid everyone and everything then any profit is invested back into the business. Your pay pays your bills, performance profit pays business bills.
Live shows are also the best place and time to offer merchandise. Those profits need to be used to pay off the initial investment and then be reinvested to build stock with hopes your merchandising turns into it’s own profitable business.
As easy as it sounds, it’s really not because just booking shows is a job in itself for musicians just arriving on scene. We don’t always receive the amount we need, sometimes shows don’t pay off in monetary ways or we might agree to shows for other reasons which could be branding, charity work or collaborations. If the fuel light is on, a tire blows or equipment fries; I of course have to reach into whatever funds are available, be it merch profits or personal pay to continue moving forward trying to make up your losses and get back on track.
I have to be able to bend and balance so that I remain a successful working artist. It’s definitely a struggle but absolutely vital when working as an independent full time musician. There’s no shortcuts or fast track to success but if it’s your passion and you work extremely hard to overcome the challenges then I don’t just believe it’s possible, I’m proof it is.

Contact Info:

Suggest a Story: BoldJourney is built on recommendations from the community; it’s how we uncover hidden gems,
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
Resilience
Where does your optimism come from?

Optimism is the invisible ingredient that powers so much of the incredible progress in society

Confidence
Stories of Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

Learning from one another is what BoldJourney is all about. Below, we’ve shared stories and

Resilience
The Power of Persistence: Overcoming Haters and Doubters

Having hates is an inevitable part of any bold journey – everyone who has made