Derik Nelson

Biography

Derik Nelson is a singer, songwriter, producer, and educator from Olympia, Washington. He’s garnered over 4 million views on YouTube, performed in 150+ cities across the USA, and reached over 100,000 students of all ages with educational music workshops, outreach programming, and fundraising assemblies. He appeared regularly as the lead guitarist on television’s “Glee,” his original songs can be heard on TV and in movies, and his singing voice has been featured on ABC’s “Modern Family,” FOX’s “Raising Hope” and “New Girl,” CBS’s “How I Met Your Mother,” and NBC’s “Go On” and “The Voice.”

Derik holds a B.S. in Music Industry from the University of Southern California, where he helped shape the Popular Music Degree program—a program that only 3% of applying singer-songwriters are accepted into—which honored him with a department award recognizing his contributions. Other awards received include the Brian Wilson Music Scholarship for songwriting, Best Male Artist in the 12th Annual International Acoustic Music Awards, and first place in the Indie International Songwriting Competition. Derik was invited by the USC President’s Office to write the USC commencement anthem “Take Chances,” which inspired his first independent tour across 40 locations on the West Coast to raise money for high school arts & music programs.

Prior to the halt of live entertainment in 2020, he sang with his brother and sister as the sibling trio Derik Nelson & Family. They performed the National Anthem at Seattle Seahawks, Seattle Sounders, and Portland Trailblazers sporting events, and toured extensively nationwide with their own headlining concert. Derik Nelson & Family was selected to represent the United States as Cultural Ambassadors through the U.S. Dept. of State traveling to Moldova, Albania, and Ukraine, with open invitations to Turkmenistan, Egypt, and Eritrea. In December 2020, Derik partnered with the U.S. Embassy in Switzerland & Liechtenstein to lead a virtual songwriting workshop using his own original curriculum to teach expression and creativity through music, facilitating a unique opportunity for collaboration to promote positive cultural exchange and strengthen international relations. Each participant in the program wrote their own song in English from start to finish, and worked together as a group to write “Exchange Our World,” a unifying message of global connection.

Derik is a proud member of SAG/AFTRA, the American Federation of Musicians, and the USC AlumniAssociation. He is also an Arts Envoy alumnus and American Music Abroad alumnus.