Chris Higbee

The WPXI Holiday Parade Presented by Pittsburgh Public Schools is pleased to announce that well- known country singer and songwriter Chris Higbee will be returning to perform in the Parade once again!

http://youtu.be/U0WF3yiXJV8

Chris Higbee was born on August 17, 1978, in Dawson, Pennsylvania. He is the youngest child of “Frosty” Higbee, an Operating Engineer, and “Marty” Higbee, a health food store owner. Chris is one of three boys. At their farm in Dawson, the family enjoyed a simple life. There were chores, fishing, hunting and lots of games of football and baseball on a “field” created on a clearing in the rows of corn. Higbee always love performing. He enjoyed singing in church and always had a big curiosity about music. When he was seven years old, he started playing the fiddle because he liked a girl with a violin and wanted to impress her. His feelings for the girl didn’t last, but his love of the fiddle remained. That love and natural musical ability evolved into learning to play many instruments including the guitar, banjo and drums.

In high school, Higbee enjoyed athletics and was a good student. He went on to attend Indiana University of Pennsylvania and in 1997 received a Bachelor of Arts degree in music. After graduation he considered a career as a teacher, but his love of performing pushed him to try to make a living singing and writing songs.

Later that year, Higbee began his professional music career as a solo performer singing and playing in Pittsburgh clubs and bars. Through his elder siblings, Higbee was exposed to a wide range of music. Although he listened to country music, especially that of Garth Brooks and Charlie Daniels, Higbee was also fond of rock music, citing Boston and Van Halen as influences on the music he was playing.

In 2000, Higbee founded a band, the PovertyNeck Hillbillies (PNH), named after a hollow on his father’s farm. As the lead of country-rock PNH, Higbee delivered wild and energetic concerts across the country on stages, rooftops, and any other platform from which Higbee could fathom a way to play! His extraordinary fiddle playing became widely known and he was asked to play fiddle alongside one Music Icon Charlie Daniels. PNH performed for seven years, acquiring an international fan base, distributing three records and releasing a No. 2 nationally rated video, “Mr. Right Now,” starring Ben Roethlisberger, Quarterback of the Pittsburgh Steelers.

As a solo artist, Higbee has retained the dedicated, loyal PNH fan base while attracting thousands of new fans called “HigbilliesTM,” who follow him from show to show. Higbee has released two solo CDs and is enjoying international support of his hits “Fiddles Rock,” “Roll on By,” “Alright Tonight,” “Barn Party” and “Guilty as Charged.” Higbee is currently performing to large crowds and featuring songs from his self-titled albums including, “Write to Me,” a song dedicated to his wife Melissa. Melissa is currently serving her country and is an Operation Iraqi Freedom Veteran. She was also mobilized as part of Operation Enduring Freedom weeks after she and Higbee exchanged wedding vows.

In addition to his US following, Higbee’s music is being played on European and Australian radio. Higbee’s song “Fiddles Rock,” the first track on Higbee’s self-titled album which tells a story that was inspired by his late father and their shared love of music, recently reached the number two spot on the UK’s HOTDISC TOP 40. “Fiddles Rock” was co-written with Higbee’s producer Tommy Harden and Don Rollins (“It’s Five O'Clock Somewhere”). This summer, Higbee played in front of his two millionth fan as part of his 2013 Summer Barn Party Concert Series and continues to wow and win over crowds with his energy, enormous talent and sincerity on stage.

In 2008, Higbee married Melissa. Melissa shares his love of music and in addition to her job as a SFC in the Army, she is part of the band, performing fan favorites with her husband. The couple has two young children; son Alexander and daughter Lucy Belle who both join their parents on stage while Alexander performs with his dad. Family is very important to the entire band and the talented children of Mark Vinsick (Guitar) and Dean Minerva (Drums) often join the Higbees, Ben Bond (Bass) and their dads on stage.

For more information about Chris Higbee go to : http://chrishigbee.com/

WPXI