Artist with ties to eastern Idaho performing in Pocatello this weekend
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS – Nathan Pacheco was “absolutely spellbound” when he heard Andrea Bocelli sing “Time to Say Goodbye” with Sara Brightman in the 1990s.
Today, the 42-year-old Washington, D.C. native is living his dream as a classical crossover vocalist and though he’s never performed with Bocelli, he has performed with David Archuleta, The Tabernacle Choir and Yanni. This weekend, he’ll also be performing a Christmas concert at the Stephens Performing Arts Center in Pocatello.
This will be Pacheco’s second visit to Pocatello and he tells EastIdahoNews.com he’s excited to return.
“I cannot wait to come back to Pocatello. The Stephens Performing Arts Center is one of the most beautiful venues I’ve performed in. So you guys have a real gem there in Pocatello,” Pacheco says.
Pacheco also has family ties to eastern Idaho. His wife’s dad lives in Rigby.
Pacheco is a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and for him, faith is an integral part of his musical career. One of his most well-known songs is his collaboration with David Archuleta in 2016 for the song “The Prayer.”
He’s also performed at the conference center in Salt Lake City on multiple occasions, one of which included sharing the stage with Donny Osmond for President Russell M. Nelson’s 95th birthday celebration. On another occasion, he sang a solo with The Tabernacle Choir.
“I sang ‘Nessun Dorma’ on my own in front of 20,000 people and that was an electrifying experience,” he says.
When Pacheco was a student at Brigham Young University in Provo, LDS Apostle Jeffrey R. Holland gave a speech on campus that deeply affected him. And it played a significant role in launching his musical career.
“God is anxiously waiting for the chance to answer your prayers and fulfill your dreams just as he always has, but he can’t if you don’t dream and you don’t pray,” Holland said at the time, according to Pacheco. “I was debating whether I should do another career instead of music and that was a turning point for me.”
Pacheco ended up auditioning for someone who was collaborating with Yanni, which gave him an opportunity to write lyrics for one of Yanni’s songs. It launched a friendship and later a North American tour for the two of them. Other doors opened up that allowed him to start a solo career and Pacheco is grateful for these experiences.
“That (relationship), in and of itself, was an amazing experience, especially (for) someone just starting out in the music biz,” he says.
Since then, Pacheco has had many ups and downs in his musical career. When the music industry shutdown in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Pacheco was fearful it was all coming to an end.
“It was challenging and I almost completely threw in the towel,” Pacheco recalls, tearing up. “I feel like this is what I’m meant to do right now and I’m grateful for the fulfillment that comes through music. Many times, it helps carry me through challenges and trials and I love connecting with people in live shows.”
So far, Pacheco has only been able to see Andrea Bocelli perform live. He’s hoping to one day meet him and perform with him.
Another one of his lifelong ambitions is to collaborate with Eminem.
“He did a duet with Rihanna about 10 years ago, where he did an epic verse and Rihanna came in with a soaring chorus. I’ve always thought that would be so cool to do with this classical crossover style,” he says. “In my mind, I think that would be epic. Who knows if that could ever happen?”
Pacheco plans to continue writing and recording music and travel around the world to connect with people while being true to his family and the things that he believes in.
He’s promising a great show in Pocatello on Friday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m.
“It’s going to be a combination of Christmas songs and religious songs, including the song, ‘Forever’ from my album ‘Higher.’ I believe it will help get people into the Christmas spirit and also (showcase) some of those good, classical crossover songs that bring out more of the operatic style I do. It’s going to be a fun show,” Pacheco says.
EastIdahoNews.com will be giving away some tickets to the show on Tuesday afternoon. Details are available in our Instagram post below.
WATCH OUR INTERVIEW WITH PACHECO IN THE VIDEO ABOVE.