Dave Herrero

Raised in a small beach town outside of Tampa, Florida, Dave Herrero was introduced to both the local and national music scene early on. At the age of fifteen, he would regularly sneak out of military school to see bands like Arc Angels and Johnny Winter. On Monday nights he would play at local blues jams at clubs like the Green Iguana,  where local legends like James Peterson and Lucky Peterson would frequently play.

After earning his degree in Psychology and Child Care Management from the University of North Florida in 1996, Herrero quickly began his career as a touring musician and moved to Austin, TX. It was there that he became the guitarist for Archie Bell and the Drells - who found international fame from their 1968 hit “Tighten Up.” He immersed himself in Austin’s music community as a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, and performed alongside artists such as Gary Clark Jr., Robert Randolph, Charlie Sexton, Lazy Lester and Marcia Ball. He also grew his business skills and co-founded the nonprofit organization “Blues Society of Austin.”

In 2004 Herrero relocated to Chicago, where he teamed up with his brother and acclaimed Hip-Hop producer, Mike Hero. Together, they founded TrackForce Productions and quickly began making music for Harpo Productions (The Oprah Winfrey Show and The Dr. Oz Show). In 2009 Dave Herrero brought on Mike Hero and songwriter Felix Reyes to release his second album, ”Austin to Chicago,” which garnered a nomination at the Illinois Blues Blast Awards for Debut Artist of the Year. He has since released three solo records and was asked to play on Playing For Change's tribute to 50 years of the Grateful Dead, "Ripple Effect" and Buddy Guy’s “Skin Deep - A Song Across America”.

Since 2000, Herrero has played on nearly thirty European tours, started the “Blues in Schools” program with Foundations of Music, and continued to share the stage with many musical heroes - including Chicago Blues legend Buddy Guy. In 2011 he co-produced Chicago Blues and Soul legend Jimmy Burns’ album, “Stuck In The Middle,” and in 2013 engineered and arranged the horn parts on Nikki Hill’s debut album, “Here’s Nikki Hill” in addition to touring with her. Herrero also works as a session guitarist for the GRAMMY Award winning producer, Jake Oh, one half of the production duo, Jarami. He has also co-produced and provided instrumentation for numerous Chicago Rap artists including PsychoDrama and Ready. Herrero has recently engineered and recorded overdubs in his studio for Doyle Bramhall’s 2018 release “Shades” and for Los Lobos’ Louie Perez’s accompanying CD with his new book, “Good Morning Aztlan: The Words, Pictures and Songs of Louie Perez”.

Today, as an active member of the Chicago music scene, Dave Herrero can be found playing around Chicago with his own band, and many others like violin virtuoso Anne Harris, and is a driving force behind the creative and business side of Who’z The Boss Music Library.