Some people are born to do what they do, and Chris Ferrara is no exception.

Hailing from Sharon, MA, a small suburb of Boston, Ferrara’s life actually began on stage when his mother went into labor while performing in the Sunday choir. It was as if the joyful noise was calling to him, and he needed to be a part of it. Since that day, his voice has been begging to be heard.

By age three, he was performing in talent shows and even had The Star Spangled Banner completely memorized, which would come in handy when he recently performed at New Era Field in Buffalo and Gillette Stadium in Foxboro. As he grew up, his voice would earn him spots in theater companies and performance troupes, touring around the New England region, including being selected to sing at Symphony Hall in Boston and Carnegie Hall in New York City. In high school, he was in all of the choirs and held leading roles in multiple musicals, but he was also a multi-sport athlete.
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“I credit my parents for that,” Ferrara says. “My brother and I had interests all over the map, and they never told us we couldn’t pursue something, especially if we enjoyed it. I’d go from choir rehearsal to football practice. I’d sing the National Anthem before basketball games then take the court as the starting point guard. It was just who I was.”

While he excelled in other sports, he stood out in baseball. In his youth, he spent his summers traveling around the country with his AAU team, and by his junior year, he had earned interest from multiple collegiate programs. In his final year of high school, a season ending injury in a preseason game shattered his dreams and caused him to shift his attention to the one constant in his life: music.

“Music was my pulse,” he says. “If I ever had a bad day, music was there, and singing was just something that came naturally, but I never thought about actually pursuing it.”

Ferrara, commonly referred to as “OZ,” went on to form a band in college with his best friend which saw some regional success, but his dreams were calling him to something bigger. It wasn’t until 2012, when country artist, Joe Bachman, rescued him from his day-to-day job as a shipping coordinator in South Boston, that he seized the opportunity to dive head first into a new career and move to Nashville.

Over the next four years, OZ would spend 80% of that time on the road as Bachman’s right hand man on two nationwide radio tours, logging over 200,000 road miles. Bachman and Ferrara later started the party band, The Tailgaters, where he held a co-lead role, touring nationally and internationally, playing over 1,000 shows across 48 states, including the U.S.S. Theodore Roosevelt CVN71's Tiger Cruise home from their 10-month deployment.

Now, after cutting his teeth and sharing stages with the likes of Mick Fleetwood, Florida Georgia Line, Lee Brice, Train, and Sister Hazel, OZ has finally stepped into the spotlight, ready to release his own brand of music. While his sound may be familiar, he is an old soul ready to breathe new life into your playlists. Chris draws from his most significant influences, introducing a new style where a soulful vocalist tells country stories with pop hooks on R&B grooves.

“Someone once described me as the ‘quintessential product of pop music,’” he laughs as he walks down Memory Lane. “As a kid, I was drawn to Gospel and Motown- big harmonies and infectious rhythms- but around the house, Mom listened to Fleetwood Mac, Dolly Parton, and Kenny Rogers. Dad rocked out to The Doobie Brothers, Journey, and Bruce Springsteen. As I got older, my musical taste buds changed as I started getting into rock ’n’ roll and hip hop, but I really found my niche when I moved to Nashville and immersed myself in country music. It's amazing the journey life takes you on to discover who you're supposed to be.”

Ferrara tours regularly with his supporting band, "The Common Good,” and the band’s name is a direct reflection of his mission: to make the world a better place for the common good. His movement, aptly named "For The Common Good," is being used to inspire positivity, share happiness, and shine a light on the good that goes on around us.

"I realized," he explains, "for every one story about violence, destruction, and negativity, there were multiple stories of charity, compassion, and goodness- stories that deserved to be highlighted- and I want to use whatever platform I have to showcase them. 'For The Common Good' is a community of people who believe that if we start treating each other better and living for the common good instead of one's self, the world will become a even better place."

With such an eclectic background combined with his boyish charm, it is no wonder his personality, contagious style of music, and high energy shows are garnering fans all over the globe, across all genres.