REID ZINGALE

Reid works full-time as a data analyst crunching numbers for Dollar General corporate. He and his wife, Rachel, have been married five years and met in his senior year of high school. They married young and Reid had to work three jobs while in college to support them. He felt he had to grow up quickly, and songwriting helped him work through what he was feeling. A couple years ago, they moved to Birmingham from Nashville so she could attend physical therapy school. Reid is from a tight-knit Italian family in Nashville, and the move was hard, but he still seeks solace in songwriting. He wrote his song "Dark Blue" about his struggles with mental health and the video gained more than 100,000 views in its first week. He and Rachel plan to move back to Nashville with their hope that Rachel will get a PT job in the city, Reid will become a touring artist and they can buy a home.