I am an award winning family music artist, children’s book author and proud Navy veteran. I believe I am an ideal candidate for Veteran of the Year because I am highlighting and amplifying the voices of military kids and families with a special project. I have recorded a children's music album where the songs are inspired by conversations with military families. The album features military kids, active-duty musicians and veterans. The journey that this project has taken me on has run the gamut of emotions from heartfelt to happy and everywhere in between. I was honored to be a guest speaker at the RI National Guard Military Family Program Volunteer Event to talk about the project. I frequently volunteer my time to perform at military family events at bases and other community gatherings. I also conducted a week long songwriting workshop with military kids at Portsmouth Middle School where the kids were able to learn confidence skills and interact with other military kids in their community. Some of these kids were also able to participate in a music video that also brought multiple military families together.
I volunteer with my family at the Operation Holiday Cheer event to put care packages together for military personnel overseas who could not be home for the holidays. I believe it is important to teach my kids and the families who follow my music about the impact those who serve have in order to allow us to enjoy the freedoms we all have.
I have also previously won a Family Choice Award, a Creative Child Award and my last album reached the top 10 on the iTunes Children’s Chart. My songs are featured on multiple official Apple Music playlists and have over a million streams!
I have always wanted to highlight and amplify the voices of military kids and families. I was genuinely interested in their stories and what the families go through. Whether it is moving from place to place, meeting new friends, constantly being the new kid, dealing with a spouse and parent that is away, and the wonderful support system that they encounter wherever they go. I wanted to hear from families directly about their specific experiences and challenge myself to write songs based on those experiences. It was an amazing experience to feature many military kids on the album. The song ‘Hi! I’m New Here!’ features a duet with 14-year-old military kid Kaleyana Ludwig who has a great voice. I also conducted a weeklong songwriting workshop for 20 military kids at Portsmouth Middle School in Rhode Island and brought my recording equipment to the auditorium. So, I would conduct the workshop and then have the kids record some parts for a couple of the songs. The cool thing about that was some of the kids were
Greg Lato is an award winning family music recording artist, children’s book author and proud Navy veteran. He was an aircraft firefighter on the flight deck of the USS Constellation aircraft carrier for 4 years. For his third children's album, titled 'Dandelion: Songs Inspired By Military Kids And Families', he is bringing joyful attention to a group often underserved in children’s entertainment. All the songs are inspired by real conversations with military families. The album features military kids, active-duty musicians and veterans and has recently hit #1 on the iTunes Top 200 Children’s Music Chart! Greg has previously won a Family Choice Award and a Creative Child Award. His songs are featured on multiple official Apple Music playlists and have over a million streams!
