Drew Taubenfeld

Drew Taubenfeld (born November 13, 1984) is an American multi-instrumentalist, musical director, composer, and recording artist. He is the musical director and touring multi-instrumentalist for Kacey Musgraves.
He has recorded, toured, and performed with, or musical directed for, artists including Dwight Yoakam, Meghan Trainor, Selena Gomez, Leon Bridges, King Princess, Maggie Rogers, Lil Nas X, Weezer, Tai Verdes, Noah Cyrus, Charli XCX, Ingrid Andress, Lainey Wilson, Charlie Puth, and Demi Lovato. He has performed live in over 40 countries, and has made broadcast appearances on shows including American Idol, the Emmy Awards, MTV Video Music Awards, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Saturday Night Live, The David Letterman Show, The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, Today (American TV program), Billboard Music Awards, and The Kelly Clarkson Show. Other notable career performances include the 37th Annual Kennedy Center Honors, in 2014, where honorees included Al Green, Tom Hanks, Patricia McBride, Sting (musician), and Lily Tomlin.
In 2021, he contributed to the musical score for the Pixar animated film Luca (2021 film), as a mandolin player. In the 2019 film, Ford v Ferrari, Taubenfeld contributed to the musical score, playing pedal steel guitar. He was the musical director for the Netflix television show, Julie and the Phantoms and The Phantoms. 
== Early life and education ==
Taubenfeld was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Mark and Ami Taubenfeld, who ran a catering business. He has two siblings, older brother Evan Taubenfeld (b. 1983), the American singer-songwriter and music executive, and younger sister, Annie (b. 1990). Taubenfeld graduated from McDonogh School in 2002. Inspired by his older brother, who was the lead guitarist, musical director, and frequent collaborator for Avril Lavigne, he began playing guitar at age 13. He attended the Berklee College of Music, graduating in 2006.
== Career ==
In 2008, he joined Demi Lovato's global tour, as a guitarist. For the next decade, Taubenfeld played as part of the touring band for musical artists including Selena Gomez, Johnnyswim, Leon Bridges, and Meghan Trainor. He is currently the musical director and multi-instrumentalist for Kacey Musgraves. He is the co-founder of the musical direction company Direction Music, with Max Bernstein, Kevin Cofield, and Asaf Rodeh. He also hosts the YouTube "Duet Show" in production with Orangewood guitars.
As a recording artist, Taubenfeld has released 2 studio albums, In motion and Seasons. He produced American folk singer and American Idol (season 16) winner Maddie Poppe's 2020 Christmas album, Christmas at Home. He has recorded an albums by Jason Mraz, Troye Sivan, Meghan Trainor, Johnnyswim, Billy Ray Cyrus, and Noah Cyrus. 
As a multi-instrumentalist, Taubenfeld records and performs on guitar, pedal steel guitar, dobro, banjo, mandolin, fiddle, and keys.
== Influences and musical style ==
Taubenfeld studied dobro and pedal steel guitar with legendary bluegrass musician Mike Auldridge, from the band The Seldom Scene. He cites this as a formative influence.
Category:1984 births
Category:American multi-instrumentalists
Category:American musical theatre directors
Category:American Recordings (record label) artists