Nico is a guitarist and teacher based in Irvine, CA.

Primarily influenced by Julian Lage, George Benson, Jon Foreman, and Joe Hisaishi, his earnest and melodic style fuses the best of the blues, soul, folk, and jazz. After studying under Adam Levy (Tracy Chapman, Norah Jones), the Nico Miguel Trio released their first EP Three Birds on a Wire in 2019.

Nico’s warm, insightful, and precise teaching style is informed by over a decade of teaching experience in academic, private, and ministry settings. He currently leads the Americana Ensemble at Concordia University Irvine, and coaches various chapel bands on campus. Nico also serves as Staff Deacon at Center Church in Irvine, CA; their music team released an EP entitled Center Music in 2023, featuring eclectic arrangements heavily inspired by King’s Kaleidoscope. He regularly leads creative workshops for local creatives and worship teams.

Nico received an AA in Guitar Performance from LACM, and a BA in Commercial Music from CUI. He is currently working towards his Masters of Music in Studio Guitar at USC.

Guitarist Paul Smith is known for his solo guitar playing, string quartet compositions, and collaborations with the Newport Film Festival, Disneyland, and Grammy-winning choir Tonality. He holds two Bachelor Degrees from CSU Long Beach in Music Composition and Jazz Guitar Performance. His versatility is his biggest strength, regularly performing jazz, RnB, and folk all throughout Los Angeles and Orange County in venues such as The Carpenter Performing Arts Center, The Wray Theatre, The Fox Performing Arts Center, Grand Annex Theatre and more.

Matthew Elton Smith, a versatile multi-instrumentalist and educator from Southern California, earned his Bachelor's Degree from CSU Fullerton in 2012 and a Masters of Music in jazz drum set from the California Institute of the Arts in 2019. As the force behind projects like themattsmithneujazztrio and JUICEBOX, he has released multiple albums and recorded original compositions at Capitol Records for the 29th and 30th Annual CalArts Jazz CDs. Currently an adjunct faculty member at Saddleback College, Matthew shares his expertise with private students and through teaching roles with Citizen Americorps and various university clinics. Inspired by renowned instructors like Joe La Barbera and Swapan Chaudhuri, he continues to shape the next generation of musicians, while also achieving remarkable feats like participating in 70 performances in 24 hours, as featured in "Ripley's Believe It Or Not, A Century of Strange."