The 27-year-old from Rochester, NY found that music always seemed to live in his bones. Aaron Rizzo is a class-act — talented, determined, pushing boundaries — but there is so much more to his love for music. He’s not just an artist. He is paving his own way as a producer, innovator, and encourager of others in the industry.
There was never a specific moment where Aaron became aware of his passion for music, but as he got older, it was one of the few things in life that continued to make sense. He picked up a guitar at nine years old and already found himself experimenting with songwriting.
“The way I viewed it when I was younger was that the guitar was my vehicle, and lyric was premium gas in the tank,” Aaron states. “Not necessarily essential for me at first, but certainly a bonus.”
As he continued through his teenage years, he was drawn to completing songs, not just the writing but guitar, bass, drums, and anything else that it would need to feel whole. Aaron says he “stumbled through some sub-par songs” in his teens, but he got to a confident place where he could call himself a songwriter.
When Aaron was young, he never really considered himself a “singer.” Guitar was the first step into a whole world of instruments he would learn over time. He obsessed over the mechanics of those instruments which would support his vocal abilities. Aaron started producing in his first band when he was only fifteen, shaping his decisions around arrangement, instrumentation, and lyric, which are very similar to how he brings songs together today. This was his foundation — learning how to be the “architect of a song.”
“My instrumental journey was head first, and the lyrical journey was feet first,” Aaron explains. “I looked at my work from a birds-eye view, placing a drum part here, a bass part there, and slowly finding out how all the pieces worked together.”
Music became a full-time career for Aaron in the fall of 2020. He relocated to Syracuse, NY and joined the staff of More Sound Recording Studio. He says this was a “terrifying decision,” but he realized this leap into his calling was the only option if he wanted to truly give it his all. The music came easy, but balance was the struggle — getting tunnel vision, hyper-focusing on things, losing sight of the bigger picture. Through musical & spiritual practice, he was able to break this cycle.
“These days, I balance my time with rock climbing, camping, and exploring the city that I’m lucky enough to call home now — Atlanta,” Aaron says. “I needed to feed the part of my life that was simple — nights in, alone time, family meals, and enjoying nature. This balance is now critical in my life.”
He explains that in order to keep things fresh, he stopped searching. The burnout would always come when Aaron refused to lift his foot off the gas. Now, he has times of work, and times of rest — he goes on to explain that “the rest is far more important than the work.”
“I’ve learned that the harder you grip things, the faster they slip away,” Aaron states. “Since I calibrated my sights on rest and a ‘sabbath-mindset,’ things tend to come more easily and naturally, and I’m thrilled with the pace of life that accompanies that.”
He continues to release music under his name, Aaron Rizzo, with his most recent single being Mouth Breather. He describes that writing and releasing songs feels “like a drug.” The more he participates in the music community, the more excited he becomes for the next project — only expanding his love of creating and his appreciation for all of the people he knows that are doing the exact same thing.
“There is so much about music that inspires me, but one thing in particular sticks out — its ability to connect us to a divine place,” Aaron says. “It doesn’t take a Masters degree in classical study to know that music has a power of biblical proportion… I firmly believe that in our human bodies we are merely messengers of a greater entity… It has a power to simultaneously celebrate and abolish us from individualism. To me, these are of equal beauty.”
Aaron just recently found his way to the national television stage, as he was a part of Team Bublé on this season (27) of The Voice. This was not necessarily run-of-the-mill for the path he has taken as an artist. When he originally started pursuing music, he never even considered the idea that he would someday be a singer. While guitar was his voice in his world, he reluctantly stepped in as frontman of his band when their original singer left. Fast forward to the summer of 2024, he was singing Drops of Jupiter in front of four of the most talented vocalists in today’s music industry (Adam Levine, Kelsea Ballerini, Michael Bublé, and John Legend).
“My experience on The Voice was about so much more than singing,” he states. “My biggest takeaway from the show was that no matter who you are or what you think you’re capable of, there is a stage out there for you… This was to push myself so beyond my comfort zone that I didn’t even know who or where I was at times… It kicked me into unexplored territory, and I grew more than I ever knew I could. I want everyone out there that had the same doubts as me to know that NOTHING is off-limits. Don’t ever shy away from things for fear that you’ll be thought of poorly, and certainly don’t ever beat yourself up for having tried it. That’s what this whole thing is about — love, community and growing as one. You really can go from a shy guitar player to a member of *ahem* Team Bublé.”
While Aaron isn’t at the Universal sound stages of Burbank, California, he resides in Atlanta where he continues to create. He moved from New York to the peach state because he wanted to live in a city that he loved outside of its music scene. He didn’t care if one city afforded him different opportunities than another, so Aaron “dug his roots” into ATL.
“I saw it as a city that I could grow, exist, and thrive in as not a musician, but as a human being,” he explains. “I knew if I took care of that, the music would come. Atlanta has so much character that bleeds into the art created here. I’m profoundly honored to be a part of that.”
To close out my interview with Aaron, I asked him what he strives to accomplish with his music… this is what he said.
“My musical mission statement is simple — to bring as many people together over their common love of community through music. Whether that brings me to stadiums or dive bars, I don’t care. When I look back on the amazing things I’ve been blessed with in this career, the times I remember most are when we were all packed in together screaming the lyrics of songs we love. I would be lying if I said I didn’t want to bring my music to bigger crowds, but it is a non-negotiable for me to keep my intentions intact. It’s not about me, it’s about the village I am a part of. We come up together. Period.”
Aaron Rizzo is a force in this industry that everyone should be looking out for. As he continues his journey, keep up with him on his socials and listen to his new song Mouth Breather available on all streaming platforms. Also, if you are curious to see where the future takes Aaron and his art, you can help fund his next album here.
*From the Writer’s Table:
Hi — Tori here — Aaron became a dear friend of mine on the show. We spent many plane rides together from Atlanta to LA, and when I first met him, I could just see the passion in his eyes. He doesn’t strive for the fame (although it’s a nice bonus). He longs to make a difference in this industry. Aaron has an eagerness and grit to him unlike anything I’ve ever witnessed before. He is one of the main reasons I am where I am now. He inspires and encourages every person he encounters, and I am grateful to know him as an artist and a friend. He’s also producing my next project which I’m really excited about so shoutout Aaron fr. Be a fan of his, I sure am! <3