Bio
Hailing from the midwest, Sergio began his journey learning to play guitar while poring over records by Stevie Ray Vaughan, Warren Haynes, Danny Gatton, Hendrix, Clapton. Ortega immersed himself even more attending the Berklee College of Music in Boston.
A move to New York City continued the dream, and those guitar skills served him well on the road with artists such as Lesley Roy (Jive Records), The Pretty Reckless (Interscope) featuring Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame, Lana Del Rey, and April Smith & The Great Picture Show.
Touring was the perfect place to try his own hand at songwriting. As that notebook filled up with song after song it became clear that he should do a record of his own.
These songs grew into the album that is Long Way From Anywhere.
Drawing comparisons to Jason Mraz and and a more-rockin Jack Johnson, Ortega assembled some of NYC’s best musicians to accompany him, Malcolm Gold (Sheryl Crow, Dan Zanes, Days Of The New), Josh Dodes (Marc Cohn, Julian Velard) and Aaron Steele (Mos Def, Russell Malone), the songs beautifully came to life in these more-than-capable hands. Producing the project was Robert L. Smith (Neil Young, Rickie Lee Jones, David Bowie, U2) of Defy Recordings in New York.
The album is available from Chava Recordings on iTunes, Amazon, Napster, Emusic and Spotify.
Currently, you can find Sergio touring the country with the founder of Broadgrass, Ramin Karimloo (Sony Records, Phantom of the Opera, Les Mis). Be sure to check the SHOWS section for upcoming dates.