Nate Begay was born January 1st 1977, in Shiprock, New Mexico. Shiprock is a small community on the Navajo Indian Tribal Reservation, located in northwest New Mexico. From a very young age, Nate’s parents, Hanley and Emily, exposed Nate, to a very wide variety of music. As a matter of fact, when you attend a Nate Begay concert today, you can hear traces of “Southern Rock n’ Roll”, “Classical”, “Funk”, “Blues” and “Cold Hard Country”, all rolled into one!

When asked of his musical influences Nate had this to say, “My goodness, we’d be here all day if I were to list every single artist that influenced me. If I had to name a few, I would have to say, Elvis Presley, George Strait, The Stray Cats, Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, John Lee Hooker, Hank Williams, Carlos Santana, Gary Stewart, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Dr. Hook, Jimi Hendrix, Chris LeDoux, Frank Sinatra, AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Billie Holliday, Aretha Franklin, Al Green… like I said, there’s just too many to name. (Laughing) I can actually remember back in school, some of the kids were singing nursery rhymes there I was crankin’ Gary Stewart and AC/DC as loud as I could.

”Even with all these influences, Nate says his biggest musical influence comes directly from his Navajo heritage. Nate explains, “One of the biggest lessons I learned from my parents was a person should always remember where they come from. When I was 8 years old my grandpa took me to a very sacred & traditional Navajo Healing Ceremony, called a Yeii’ Bi’ Cheii’ Dance. That was where I took part in a sacred ceremony, and I became a Yeii’.”

Talking to Nate, one can see how serious he gets when he starts talking about his Navajo heritage. “Traditionally,… when a Navajo or as we call ourselves Dine’ (translation: The People) introduces themselves, they do so, with their clans. For example, I would say my name, & that I am “Tsin Sikaadnii” (translation: Clamp Tree Clan) which is my Mother's Clan,.. & I was born for “Tl’aashchi’i” (translation: Red Cheek People) which is my Father's Clan. “Ashiihi” (translation: Salt Clan) are my Cheii’ or my maternal grandfather. “Hashk’aa hadzohi” (translation: Yucca Fruit-Strung Out In A Line Clan) are my Nalii, or my paternal grandfather. I’ve always kept those traditional Yeii’ Bi’ Cheii’ healing songs with me, so I would have to say that was my first musical influence. We sing those songs so that we can bless & help sick or troubled people”. Clearly, Nate brings with him an extremely wide musical background, that not only stretches across styles, but also pays tribute to his Dine’ or Navajo heritage as well.

“Dreams Come True” is a phrase that Nate uses quite often in his motivational speeches and in concert. “I say this because thanks to the fans, I am living, breathing, proof that dreams, no matter how big or small, do in fact come true!” From a very early age, while taking guitar lessons from his uncle, Harry Begay, Nate, had big dreams of standing on a stage, in the spotlight, just as his musical heroes did. If you were to talk to his family they would tell you stories of how a young Nate Begay, while still a toddler, stood on his parent's coffee table and pretended he was entertaining a crowd of people. Clearly, being an entertainer has been in Nate’s blood from the very beginning!

In May, 1999, Nate made another life long dream come true. Nate graduated from college with a degree in Drafting & Design. Rather than finding a job working for another company, Nate took a huge risk by opening the doors to his own company!

When asked about this decision he had this to say: “Well, everything in my life, the decisions I make, are all dictated by one thing. I always ask myself, will this make my little sisters proud of their big brother? Will this make my parents proud of their son? With today’s economy I knew that it would be tough, and I knew it would be a huge risk. But something in my heart told me that it was the right move to make. As long as I had support from my family, I felt in my heart that it was the right move to make. Thank goodness financially it was the right move. I feel very blessed, humble, & lucky that business has been good to me. Don’t get me wrong, it is by no means easy. I have to hustle for every client I have, but I feel it’s another example of what I always say, Dreams Come True.” To this day, Nate still owns & operates his engineering consultant firm, based out of Aztec, New Mexico.

In Jan. 2002, even with a successful business listed in his resume’, Nate still wasn't quite happy. “Around this time, me and my buddies went to see just about everyone in concert, all my musical heroes. Guys like Chris LeDoux, Tracy Byrd, Mark Chessnutt, Daryle Singletary, Dwight Yoakam, Neal McCoy, and so many others.” Up to this point in his life, the only entertaining Nate had done was from his parent’s coffee table as a child, and with a few friends when he picked up his guitar. Taking the advise of his father Hanley and a few close friends, Nate along with his sister Heather, took a drive up to Durango, Colorado. There they found a small recording studio and recorded a few demonstration songs!

Nate recalls.. “Oh man, I was so nervous, I had no idea what I was getting myself into. We walked into this studio and I sang my heart out. I never thought there was so much work involved in recording a song! After a few hours there it was, a demo. I listened to it over and over, and to be honest, I felt a little embarrassed. I just didn't feel like it was good enough. It’s very strange to hear yourself sing, it didn't sound anything like I thought it would.” But these demonstration recordings would do more for Nate than he thought.

Feeling so much pride for what his son had created, Nate's father, without his son's knowledge, began taking copies of those demonstration recordings to radio stations all around the four corners area of the southwest: New Mexico, Arizona, Utah & Colorado. It didn't take long for the radio station DJ’s and Station Managers to see the potential that Hanley had seen in his son all along.

These radio stations began playing the demonstration recordings and in turn, they were being requested by listeners! Nate recalls.. “You know how I found out that my demos were being played? One day my Dad asked me to turn on my radio and BAM, there it was!! I went through every emotion the first time I heard my music being played on the radio; I laughed, I cried, I was afraid, I was excited, at one point I didn’t know what to feel, so I just sat there with tears running down my face, wondering if my life long dream was really possible.”

All that radio attention led to Nate getting his first gig in Gallup, New Mexico. Not as glamorous as he had thought it might be, Nate’s first gig was singing in a grocery store that was running a sale on paper towels & toilet paper products!

Nate smiles when he explains, “I asked the same thing ‘Waylon’ did… Did Hank really do it this way? A Gallup radio station had announced that I would be appearing and I had a pretty good crowd. I guess I had sold a lot of toilet paper for that grocery store. (laughing) “It wasn’t exactly the beginning I had imagined, but none of that mattered, when I heard the people singing along, saw them dancing, I heard their applause and I was hooked.”

That grocery store gig led to more and more requests for appearances throughout the Southwest. Nate performed at chapter houses, dances, clubs, bars, weddings, fairs, and carnivals. Realizing the importance of self promotion, Nate turned to a man in Phoenix, AZ for help: Vino Sam. Vino launched a new web site that promoted Native Artists called ‘RedNations’. This web site played a large part in exposing Nate's music to the world. Nate also gained a life long friend in Vino.

Since that web site launch Nate has continued to be asked to entertain for people throughout the Southwest from Texas to Montana and as far west as California. Most importantly, Nate has performed extensively in his beloved home state of New Mexico. Some of those gigs included several concerts held to pay tribute to ‘The Navajo Code Talkers’, brave Navajo Veterans that served our great nation. Another special gig was when Nate was personally asked by the Navajo Nation President to play for his inaugural ball. Nate has also performed for countless charitable fund raising events.

Nate continues today making several more dreams come true by meeting and even singing with his musical heroes. “I still can't believe everything that is happening! Being asked to sing at such special events, or opening for my heroes, sometimes even being invited back on stage to sing with them!! I know I owe all of this to the people that sacrificed so much for me to succeed; my family. I owe so much to the friends that believed in me. I know in my heart that I also owe all of this to my fans, some of which drive for hours just to come to a concert. I'm just going to continue making my family proud, and try real hard to represent my people of the Navajo Nation in a positive way. With blood, sweat, and plenty of tears,… Dreams Come True,.. thanks to you, yes, you reading this right now… with all my heart, and with every ounce of my soul…

"I thank you."