Mercury Rising will perform at the July 14 Top of the Grade Concert in downtown Saluda starting at 7 p.m. in McCreery Park. Be sure to add this trio to your event calendar.

Debbie and Irving met in a studio project in Tampa, Fla. 13 years ago and have been playing music together since.

She began writing songs around the age of 15, was eventually discovered by an MGM agent and recorded her first CD, “Visions of Love,” in 1999 with the late three-time Grammy Award-winning producer, Phil York, with Yorktown Digital from Texas, released on Tea Tyme Records.

Following her first release, Debbie began a successful all original song tour with Barnes and Noble and eventually moved to Florida where she performed extensively for about six years as a solo artist, with several bands and in the studio (Emerald City Studios, Harp Records, Antbed Records).

The second CD, “Gentleness,” was a self-produced original project with songs that reflected stories of love and the passion of life. In addition, “Jacob’s Song” which was written by Debbie, has traveled the world in the book “Parting the Waters,” by Jeannie Damoff. Debbie’s roots as the daughter of two ordained evangelical, singing and instrumental ministers who traveled all over the U.S., Mexico and Canada provided a great foundation to build a life-long love and appreciation for heart-felt and soulful music. 

 Irving “Hands of Steel” Camacho, has played Latin percussion since childhood, following in the footsteps of his father, Ismael Camacho, who toured with bands extensively in New York. After joining the Navy, Irving played regularly for the USO and has performed with many successful bands over the years. His natural ability for crisp, clean, concise and tasteful percussion makes him a highly sought talent for both live music and studio work. 

 Orion Faruque, owner and operator of RedMusic Productions, is an outstanding young and upcoming artist, freelance music producer and audio engineer who writes and performs original music as well as supporting a variety of local talent on bass, drums and guitar.  

– article submitted by Cathy Jackson