Usher

Emily Bornt discovered her love for music and theater early, starting with the recorder before moving to saxophone and guitar in her school’s jazz and marching bands. In middle school, a small acting role sparked a deeper interest—not onstage, but behind the scenes. She quickly gravitated toward costumes and stage management, setting the stage for a future in theatrical design. That passion deepened in high school through an internship with the New York State Theater Institute and later expanded in college, where she took on technical roles in professional productions.

Willie Bam Bam Parker’s mother has said that at birth, her son came out swinging and she knew even then that he was going to be a drummer. At age 3 his love of drums was rewarded his with his first kit, a Smurf drum set. By age ten Willie was playing in a variety of different church groups, learning to jam with other musicians. While just two semesters into study at Berklee College of Music, Willie got his first big break with a successful audition for the Faith Evans band, as part of the huge Usher 8701 tour.

Shae Usher was just a teenager when she was asked to help Chris Tucker arrange his birthday party. Chris requested that Usher perform (the artist, no relation to Shae) so she called Usher’s manager. His manager at the time was his mother and she and Shae hit it off from the start. In 1996 Shae was hired to join Usher’s crew and has worked with him ever since. As her career progressed she also worked with other artists as stage and later artist manager for Cash Money and Ruff Ryders, Chris Brown among many others.

Herman Ward is known for his creative technical work and programming for Live Sound tours with the likes of Usher, Zapp & Roger and Klymaxx. As a producer, Mr. Ward has worked with such artists as New Edition, Neo and Bobby Brown. His passion for music started with his mother, a drummer, who encouraged her son to pursue his talents in music. He would go on to record several albums as a drummer in the early part of his career including the 1987 dance track “The Monkey Paw” by Scott and Raven.