Born and raised in the West Chicago suburbs, Julian Velasco has been sharpening his musicianship on guitar since the young age of 7 years old. At the age of 10, he joined the newly opened School Of Rock in Elmhurst, IL, where he would play at local venues with other students and gain a liking to playing live and learning more about pushing himself on his guitar. He would go on to join School Of Rock’s All Star program at 18 years old, giving him the opportunity to tour his region of the U.S with a traveling band of other prestigious students. Throughout his teen years, he would find a liking to studying more technical guitarists from all across the musical spectrum ranging from early speed metal players such as Paul Gilbert and Yngwie Malmsteen to modern progressive players like Tim Henson and Tosin Abasi. After graduating highschool, he started taking college level music courses at College Of Dupage and briefly immersed himself into the hardcore metal scene of Chicago that exploded in 2021 near the end of the pandemic. After completing his Associates in Arts degree at community college, he would transfer to Belmont University in 2022 where he has been working towards a Bachelors Degree in Commercial Guitar. 

Since coming to Belmont in 2022, Julian has expanded his musicianship far past his metal and rock beginnings that he focused on in his youth. Studying under Mike Valeras in his private lessons, his focus on guitar in academia has been primarily rooted in bebop jazz, and he regularly visits Rudy’s Jazz Club to attend jams and study jazz performers to further immerse himself in the genre. To keep his rock and metal roots strong, he has participated in Belmont’s Rock Ensemble for his 2nd and 3rd years of attendance at the university, practicing and performing under the ensemble's band leader, Paulo Oliviera. 

Currently, Julian is working with Murfreesboro-based progressive rock band 1:1 Soul to kickstart his artist career near the end of his time in University. He continues to support local Nashville artists and is looking to work with other musicians to give back to the community and work towards becoming a full time gigging guitarist and teacher.