Maddie Rice

Maddie Rice has proven to be a young musician to watch. As a 2014 Berklee College of Music graduate with a burgeoning pop-rock career in electric guitar, she was chosen in 2015 to be part of the house band for The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. As a member of Stay Human, Jon Batiste’s band, Rice adds to the group’s unique blend of jazz, funk, and pop.

A native of Salt Lake City, Utah, Rice began concentrating on guitar at age 13. During high school, she twice attended Guitar Sessions, one of Berklee’s summer programs, preparing her for a Berklee education. In 2012, she explained how Berklee's summer programs broadened her perspective. “It was pretty intimidating at first,” she said. “But it was amazing to experience so many different styles and approaches to playing. Everyone at Guitar Sessions, from my instructors to guest performers and clinicians to other students, opened my ears and mind up to new possibilities....I used to think that there were just ‘good’ and ‘bad’ players, but at Guitar Sessions I realized how wide and diverse the world of guitar is, and that there’s a place for almost everyone in it.” These realizations helped her decide to pursue a career in music and attend Berklee.

Before her Colbert gig, Rice performed and toured with her band, Drew Ofthe Drew. Under the name Siv & Maddie, she has also released a folk album with Norwegian singer-songwriter Siv Jakobsen entitled The Beggar & the Borrower (2013).