Christian-based songwriter and singer Nate Huss was raised in Phoenix, AZ, the youngest of eight adopted children. Huss' family was a true "United Nations family," as he himself has stated, and he grew up with a Korean sister, a Mexican brother, a black brother and two white brothers, which deeply influenced his expansive, spiritual, and open-armed view of the world, all of which comes through clearly in his songwriting. Huss' writing and singing skills blossomed in 2004 while he was a student at Northern Arizona University, and he played anywhere he could, from dorm lobbies to coffee shops. After his brother urged him to enter a couple of showcase competitions, Huss won the 2005 Gospel Music Association's Music in the Rockies vocal competition three months later, which convinced him to relocate to Nashville and give the music thing a real try. He began writing songs with writing partner Aaron Rice and recording them with producer Jamie Moore, a project that was eventually released by Slanted Record as Here with Me in 2008. ~ Steve Leggett