Connor Ertel grew up around music but never expressed a desire to join in on the fun until the age of 13. This process was largely driven by his desire to blend in more with his two best friends, Eric Wernke and Matt Hurley, who were becoming more involved in both playing and performing music. In the summer prior to the 8th grade, Connor asked his father to show him some chords on the 1966 Holiday, his father's first guitar. He was quickly drawn to catchy and melodic tunes and his father introduced him to the riff from the song "Pipeline". In fact, one of his earliest guitar influences was The Ventures, a surf-based instrumental band from the 1960's. Connor saw guitar as his contribution to the band he and his friends had created without considering vocals as an option. A combination of shyness and lacking confidence made him most comfortable without a microphone in front of him. After several years of playing and much convincing by his band mates, he began contributing more vocally. After over a decade of performing in various bands, Connor was approached to create Sounds of Summer and he was on board without much convincing. Today, Connor takes much pride in his vocal contribution to the band and has many prominent vocally-challenging parts during the show. Music is prominent in Connor's life but he sees his greatest roles in life as husband to his beautiful wife Tara, father to his two boys, Graham and Leo, and physical therapist at Ascent Physical Therapy in North Vernon, Indiana.