Vocal Coach to the Stars: Ken Stacey Brings Vocal Coaching to Santa Barbara

Ambrosia, ‘American Idol,’ and an International Music Reach

Kenny Loggins is one of several big-name musicians that Ken Stacey has worked with. | Photo: Courtesy

From small band gigs to American Idol, Ken Stacey has had an impressive music career as an artist, producer, musician, vocal coach, and more. And now, he’s bringing his mentorship to Santa Barbara.

After working with music legend Kenny Loggins as his vocal coach since 2020 and expanding his mentorship to students at the Cate School in Carpinteria, Stacey is extending his reach to Santa Barbara with hopes of working with new, current, and even retired artists.

“I’m coming up here because I want to bring a lot of value to the community,” Stacey said. “My job as a vocal coach is to help my clients at any age continue to access the full potential of their voice based on where they’re at and their career and their age and their body and their instrument.”

Stacey’s vocal coaching career has been embedded throughout most of his life, but it really kicked off at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. There, he learned a vocal coaching approach based on the Bel Canto singing vocal style and began outreach to work with all levels of voices and with people all over the world, stretching to places as far as South Africa and New Zealand. But notably, Stacey pointed out that he has had the opportunity to work with Kenny Loggins, Elton John, Michael Jackson, and Richard Marx, among a number of other artists.

He continued to play and produce music and in 2006, became the front man of rock band Ambrosia before being vocal coach on American Idol seasons 10 and 11. In 2020, Loggins met Stacey when he realized that he needed to work with someone to keep his voice strong.

“It’s nerve-wracking to not be sure if your voice is going to show up in this line of work,” Loggins said. However, he explained how working with Stacey has helped him hit higher notes and maintain a strong voice, especially when he wants to sing personal favorite songs that he’s written, such as “House at Pooh Corner.”

Vocal coach Ken Stacey | Photo: Courtesy

Stacey compared being a professional singer to being an athlete, stressing the importance of coaching to maintain, grow, and advance one’s voice in this case. Having done a lot of work with big artists in the ’80s and ’90s, Stacey said that he’s watched firsthand how music artists have struggled to sing to the level that audiences were used to. That was where he would come in as a ghost singer or help them strengthen their voice.

“The idea is that as we age the instrument ages,” Stacey explained. He emphasized approaching everything with a problem-solving mindset. “We are not machines. We meet each day with the voice that we have every day and as we get older things begin to change.”

Though Stacey is primarily working as a vocal coach, he also still helps to produce music and participate in session singing. Having such a versatile background adds more to the experience as a whole, which Loggins noted has helped him continue with performances even after officially retiring as a musician.

Stacey is enthusiastic and confident in being able to help singers be more satisfied with themselves and “not only extend their careers, but the joy of it.” For all of his work, Stacey’s long career in all things music has led him back to Santa Barbara, which he noted has a special place in his heart. He hopes to broaden community awareness of his presence as a coach and continue to invest time into what he loves.

“I bring all that ‘other side of the glass’ kind of experience. You know, somebody who’s been the lead singer in a very well-known band, like Ambrosia, sung backgrounds behind Michael Jackson and Elton John,” Stacey said. “All these skills I bring in as a vocal coach. They all inform what I do when I work with my clients.”

For more information about Stacey and his expansion to bring his mentorship to Santa Barbara, visit kenstacey.com.