Nashville-based singer-songwriter, composer, and multi-instrumentalist Cody Fry will be taking his diverse catalog to the Walt Disney Concert Hall alongside the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra on Saturday, April 19. After being rescheduled from the previously slated January showtime, the Grammy nominee will be performing a unique show full of composition work from recent memory while sharing “what’s on his mind.”

Tickets for the concert are available now. Similar to what we’ve done in the past, we often give away tickets to shows like this and others at the Hall. Subscribe to our newsletter and/or follow us on Instagram to find out when we drop the giveaway.

Words: David Sosa

From American Idol to the Grammys

To say the last 10 years for Cody Fry has been a meteoric rise to the top would still be understating just how far he’s come. Although he had three full-length albums under his belt, he would first gain recognition as a contestant on the 14th season of American Idol, covering Judy Garland’s “Over the Rainbow” from “The Wizard of Oz.” Despite not making the final 24, his appearance was the start of a career trajectory headed to the top, all within a decade.

American Idol also established Fry’s love for covers, something that would become a signature through various Christmas covers. However, it was his re-orchestration of “Eleanor Rigby” by The Beatles that served as the culmination of everything that came before, combining his command as a composer with his love for singer-songwriter material. For his version of “Eleanor Rigby,” he landed a Grammy nomination in 2021, picking up another nomination this past ceremony for an arrangement of Simon & Garfunkel’s “The Sound of Silence.”

Becoming a composer

Fry was first introduced to the world as a vocalist operating at the fringes of pop, rock, and soul, but orchestral music has always been part of Fry’s DNA. On top of the fact that his father was a composer, he always found himself gravitating to symphony orchestras, picking up multiple instruments over his life. Like many singer-songwriters, he plays the guitar and the piano, instruments that have popped up throughout his career. However, that background would help inform his composition work, allowing him to tackle artists like The Beatles and make classic songs all his own.

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Scott Dunn and the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra

Fry, a more than capable composer in his own right, will be taking center stage at the concert, allowing Scott Dunn to take the reins. Dunn is best known as the associate conductor of the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, who normally perform at the amphitheater but will be coming to the Hall for Fry. And similar to Fry, Dunn knows what it’s like to be a multi-hyphenate in music, working as a pianist but being best known for being a conductor of classic film scores like A Streetcar Named Desire and Rebel Without a Cause. In other words, the two understand each other on a deeper level.

While there is no detailed program available ahead of the concert, the promise of Fry sharing “what’s on his mind” says all you need to know. Like any multi-hyphenate, Fry is not bound to one specific genre or discipline, ensuring a wide-ranging show that will keep you on your toes. Whether he performs original music from albums like 2017’s Flying or stuns the audience with his interpretations of legendary musicians, listeners are in good hands.