Natalie Shugars
Lead & backing vocals, keys, percussion

Natalie got her start in a career she had always dreamed of at the tender age of eighteen. At a local lounge not too far from her home, she met a touring East Coast circuit cover band, FYI. After a quick audition for the group, it was time to pack her bags, and leave home, never to return until years later. Traveling on the road for a year, the band soon gave her a nickname that has stuck:: to everyone in the biz she is known as "Bird", due to her on-the-road "nesting" tendencies, her soaring voice, and her free spirit.  

Following this first taste of the touring circuit, Natalie soon pursued other ventures in the cover music world such as performing at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, SC, and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines as well as the rock stages of Las Vegas, NV, with the group Pop Culture. Aside from singing, Natalie is also a professional model currently signed with The Talent Group in Pittsburgh.  She also has appeared in the August 2004 and July 2007 editions of Maxim Magazine. Her own creative "wings" spread when she spent several months in Atlanta, Georgia working on her solo album filled with an edgy country rock sound.
 
Before long, though, Natalie began to miss the band “family” environment found only in a close-knit musical group, and she wished to again be part of that experience. So after seven years and thousands of traveled miles, Natalie finally came home to the ’Burgh to see what she might find there.  Ironically, not too long after her return, she met the members of Mercedez, who soon asked Natalie to join their band.  Her soulful, versatile voice, amazing stage presence and endless energy make Natalie a perfect fit for the band.  Within just a few months after her joining the group, Mercedez enjoyed the distinction of having a hit Steeler Fight song (“I Love Black & Gold” ) blasted on major radio stations. 

Contact Natalie at natalie@mercedezmusic.com.