The Keys to Success

“I guess you could say I didn’t really think about it too much.” For David Crutcher ’13, the decision to pursue a career in the music industry was hardly a decision at all. From the first time his tiny fingers struck the keys at age three, to performing in Irish Pubs at age 12, and now serving as the keys player for Post Malone’s band, Crutcher always knew he belonged on stage.

While Crutcher can’t recall what drew him to the piano at such a young age, he explains, “I was told that I just wandered up to it and started picking things out and doing it at a remarkable rate.” He and the keys have been inseparable ever since.

Yet Crutcher’s passion for music was formally ignited upon his decision to sift through items in his grandparents attic, a decision that would end up shaping Crutcher’s life course. “All my dad’s and uncle’s old albums were up there,” Crutcher explains. “I found a Ray Charles cassette tape and just popped it in.” Having never listened to Charles before, Crutcher recalls, “I vividly remember the very first thing that came on, and I was like ‘Oh, man, this is really cool.’ I had never really heard anything like it.” He says that discovery set him “off on a road of figuring out every possible thing that [Charles] ever wrote, sang, or played.” To this day, Charles’s soulful sound remains to be Crutcher’s favorite genre of music, and Charles his favorite musician.

In the fall of 2000, Crutcher joined the Collegiate community as a Kindergartener, building lasting connections with teachers who helped cultivate Crutcher’s passion for music. “All throughout my time [at Collegiate], teachers would pull me aside in class or the hallways and give me mix CDs,” he recalls.

He credits former Middle School math teacher Bill Ryder, current Middle School English

teacher Nathan Goodwyn, Upper School English teacher Vlastik Svab, and Director of the Arts Mike Boyd for shaping his musical journey. Crutcher remains in touch with many of them today — Boyd even attended his F-1 Trillion Tour stop in Virginia Beach. Reflecting on Crutcher’s talent, Svab shared, “‘Crutch’ is probably the most naturally gifted musician I’ve ever met.”

Late Collegiate art teacher Kevin Kelley also had a significant and lasting impact on

Crutcher’s growth as a musician. “Kelly gave me his stereo that he bought back in the ’70s,

and we rebuilt it together when I was in 8th Grade. I still have it. Listening to the radio on that stereo was how I discovered tons of music.” Reflecting on his time at Collegiate, Crutcher says, “I do very fondly look back on all the teachers and friends I had at Collegiate. They were always encouraging me.”

A true testament to his talent, Crutcher began playing professionally at just 12 years

old. As a kid, he spent countless hours at a local Irish pub, Rare Olde Times. A blink-and- you-miss-it pub tucked away on the corner of Patterson and Pump, the bar has long been a hub for local musicians. For a young and ambitious Crutcher, the pub provided him with multiple influential mentors who played a pivotal role in shaping Crutcher’s rise as an artist.

The pub featured a band of its own, including keys player John Holmes, who Crutcher remembers as “one of the best keys players in town.” However, Holmes’s popularity meant he was often double booked, leading to Crutchter’s pre-teen debut, when he was asked to fill in. “A local literally drove me back home, and I grabbed my keyboard. It became a weekly gig.”

In the fall of 2013, Crutcher started at Belmont University, in Nashville, an institution known for having one of the country’s top music programs. Despite his passion for performing, he chose not to major in performance. Instead, he pursued a degree in audio electrical engineering and minored in music business. Crutcher’s interest in the technical side of music stemmed from his friendship with mentor John Fetherson, the pub’s bandleader, who also served as one of the leading electronic repair technicians in Richmond. “He opened me up to that whole world,” Crutcher explains.

In college, Crutcher began interning at Nashville Pro Hammond, a go-to spot for local musicians for organ repair. There, Crutcher worked on countless organs for famous musicians who were preparing to go on tour. During his three years at the store, Crutcher says he “fixed everyone’s from Peter Frampton to Arrowsmith.”

Eventually, Crutcher decided to leave Nashville Pro-Hammond, and while he didn’t have a specific plan in mind, his path would lead him to tour with Nashville artist Matthew Szlachetka. It was on that tour when Crutcher first visited Los Angeles, where, in a full circle moment for Crutcher, he visited Ray Charles’s studio and played his piano. “It was a huge life moment,” Crutcher recalls.

Not unlike the lifestyles of many other performing artists, the pandemic threw a wrench in Crutcher’s way of living. Even so, Crutcher and his friend Eric Fortaleza found solace in the creation of Pitch Meeting. Pitch Meeting, voted one year as Nashville’s best open mic night, is centered around the idea of having a house band at open mic night to play along with singers. Before their creation, open mic nights consisted of singers forced to sing without an instrument accompaniment.

Crutcher’s opportunity to play with Post Malone came along last July, when prominent Nashville producer Derek Wells reached out about joining Malone on his country debut tour, the F-1 Trillion Tour. Recognizing the unique opportunity, Crutcher eagerly accepted the role and joined the tour in August of 2024.

Crutcher recalls, “We went out and had a great time — it really is the best.” Crutcher explains that Post Malone, or Austin, as he calls him, “is just the sweetest guy and really genuinely cares about everyone.”

In April, Crutcher is heading out on tour with Post Malone once more. Kicking off the tour at Coachella, the stadium tour will last for three months in the U.S. and will wrap up with six weeks in Europe.

Despite his packed schedule, Crutcher stays inspired by revisiting the sounds of those he’s always loved, including Ray Charles. “If I’ve spent two weeks in sessions playing music that doesn’t really inspire me, I might just have to sit down, put on a Ray Charles album, and figure out how to play it,” he says.

For Crutcher, the question was never if he would play music, but rather where and with whom. Music isn’t just his career — it’s the integral part of Crutcher’s identity, acting not only as the foundation for his life’s decision,but serving as an eternal spark of joy and inspiration.