MusicRowPics: Danika Portz

Danika Portz visit

Rising singer, songwriter and entertainer Danika Portz recently visited the MusicRow office to preview songs for staff.

Portz hails from the tiny town of Remsen, Iowa, which boasts an estimated population of 1600 people. “I had 32 people in my graduating class,” said Portz, “and that included two exchange students.”

Portz moved to Nashville three years ago to pursue her musical aspirations. Her songs blend various colors from the musical palette, incorporating shades of jazz, folk, and pop. “I’m from the YouTube generation,” said Portz. “People are always looking for something new. People get bored very easily, myself included, so I pull from a lot of influences.”

In 2013, she signed a co-publishing deal with Green Hills Music Group, and Grin Like a Dog Songs. Accompanied by Scott Mulvahill on guitar and percussion, Portz performed a trio of tunes from her upcoming project Set This World on Fire, including “Greatest Show On Earth,” “Feet Run Out,” and the project’s title track.

“This is three and a half years of hard work and honing my craft,” said independent artist Portz.  “I feel like it doesn’t sound like anyone else. Because I’m not signed, I had more freedom and I took advantage of that.” She worked to finance the project through a Kickstarter campaign which raised $17,000, which was $7,000 more than her $10,000 goal. Though she set a 45-day goal to raise the $10,000, she met that mark in less than three days. “That allowed us to put an extra song on the album and do some interesting promotional things for the project,” said Portz. “Everyone has been so supportive.”

Set This World On Fire is produced by Portz, Steve Mitchell, and John Willis.

She has recently performed at Nashville’s Bluebird Cafe, the BMI Key West Songwriters Festival, and at CMA Music Festival. She was also tapped to perform the theme-song for current MTV show, Virgin Territory.

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