Checking in With: Danny Bergold's New Group "ARIA" - Our Pop Opera Tenor Favorites

This was surely the most entertaining business meeting we had in recent months!

Danny Bergold, President and Managing Partner of About Entertainment, had scheduled a meeting to introduce us to some of his latest entertainment offerings and surprised us with a live performance by ARIA, his pop opera quartet.

We expected Danny with an iPad and his sizzle reel. In came Danny - with the four Australian born singers that form ARIA! Imagine our surprise! Nothing beats the real thing. We got an impromptu show  -  they sang the roof right off the building, unplugged with just a guitar for accompaniment!

Janet: "Their voices are just incredible, individually and in harmony! Once Scott Fields, Craig Hendry, Liam McLachlan and Jason Short started to sing, work all around EventWorks stopped. Everyone came out to watch the show. ARIA got a standing ovation from our seasoned event pros. These guys have exemplary talent and they clearly love what they do. The show was so much fun! Their good mood brightened everyone's day!"

Indeed, these four guys have known each other for a while, as they sang together in the Australian group The Ten Tenors.

Craig Hendry, musical director: "We coincidentally all left The Ten Tenors in 2009 and ended up moving to the United States for various reasons. I think after years of working on tour, traveling through 25 countries with a large group, we each just needed a break. Jason honed his media production and home construction skills. Liam worked for Barnes & Noble when he arrived on the West Coast, Scotty made a living as a wedding singer and I played dueling pianos in Texas. We were in touch through all of this because we are really friends. Liam was the best man at my wedding. So everyone was doing their own thing but in 2011 Jason called to ask whether we would get together for a charity singing gig in Texas. I quickly wrote some new arrangements and we performed together for the first time in several years. It was fun! And successful! We got several follow-up gigs and ended up formalizing ARIA in 2012. I moved to Los Angeles and we are making ARIA our priority. We all get on very well and working together is really enjoyable now. There is not so much pressure. We are not yet established. We can put the emphasis on a repertoire we really like. And after the concert, we all go and have a beer!"

Danny Bergold: "Their four unique voices bring a hitherto unheard blend of opera and pop, exploiting the versatility and range each of them brings to ARIA.  At ease with diverse repertoire from Puccini to Philip Philips, these boys from Oz pride themselves on delivering a musical experience that is raw and honest and, well, let’s face it – often vocally thunderous.  After all, they are from Down Under."

Please watch the video!  Jason Short applied his video production skills. These guys just know how to entertain!


ARIA EPK from ARIA on Vimeo.