KUTX presents Daniel Fears and the Nu Classic

Daniel Fears grew up loving a lot of music. From the gospel and Christian music he was raised on, to the r&b and hip hop that informed his adolescence, and the classical music he studied at The University of Texas and Yale University, Daniel has a voracious appetite for soulful music of all genres. 

Since his debut in 2020, Fears has sought out musical experiences of all types–from opening for R&B world-travelers like Mac Ayres and BLK ODYSSY, to performing at Kerrville Folk Festival, or selling out shows with an 18-piece string orchestra. Daniel’s path has been and perhaps always be an unconventional one. 

His latest project, "Close to Home" (set for release in June 2024) brings his broad influences into one space. "Close to Home" combines Fears’ distinct melodic R&B sound (imagine John Legend, Marvin Gaye, Frank Ocean) with an ensemble of strings, voices, guitar, and piano, totally unplugged and recorded live. For his most vulnerable and genre-blending record yet, Fears enlisted the help of nine composers to re-imagine his original music for this ensemble. He and his friends even crowd-sourced the funding for this massive project–raising over $15,000 in just under 4 weeks.

Music from his recent EP “Enough” was featured in the documentary “Road to Emancipation: Black History Bike Ride” and Music from “Canopy” will be featured in the upcoming short film “If They Took Us Back” on Juneteenth 2024.