Donny Van Slee

Raised off the West Coast of Florida, singer/songwriter Donny Van Slee, also known as Dr. Don, realized at a young age that music was more than just a passion – it was his life’s art. After graduating from Central High School in 2011, Donny started to perform his music at local establishments around Hernando County.

While still figuring out what type of higher education he wanted to pursue, Donny attended and received his Associate in Arts degree and then his Bachelor of Applied Science in Supervision and Management at Pasco-Hernando State College in 2014 and 2018, respectively.

After graduation, Donny left Weeki Wachee to study at Palmer College of Chiropractic, located in Daytona Beach, Florida where he continued to perform live every weekend. While attending school, he became president of the business club and was awarded the Virgil Strang Philosophy Award – which recognizes a deserving graduate for his or her distinctive accomplishments and contributions to the philosophical principles of chiropractic as a student.

Donny discovered Nashville, Tennessee while road-tripping from Florida to Colorado to start a chiropractic internship. After a few sent-out emails, the “World-Famous Tootsies Orchid Lounge” decided to grant him an audition. While Donny was driving back from Colorado to Florida to graduate chiropractor school and receive his doctorate, he auditioned at Tootsies and they hired him on the spot. That’s when Donny decided to put his plans of opening a chiropractic office aside to pursue a music career in Nashville.

After relocating to Music City, he was instantly enrolled in Tootsie’s “Honky Tonk School” where he was taught the ropes of performing, singing, and crowd interaction in downtown Nashville.

Three years later, Donny grew a large enough online fanbase to capture the ears of people across the world including NBC’s popular music show, The Voice. They contacted Donny directly, asking him if he wanted to be on the show. He accepted their invitation, and as a result, ended up turning the chairs of country music stars Dan and Shay and Reba McEntire. Reba used her only block on the show, blocking Dan and Shay, resulting in Donny automatically landing on her team.

Donny continues to reside in Nashville where he actively writes and releases songs, performs at local venues, and practices chiropractic. Donny’s main goal for his music is to grow his fanbase large enough to perform a headlining show at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Denver, Colorado. Due to the demands of his music career, Donny’s main goal for chiropractic is to eventually retire from his 9 to 5 and participate quarterly in Chiro-Missions, is an organization that travels to developing countries to provide free chiropractic care to different orphanages and others in need.