The Voice returns for another season, featuring many gifted vocalists who hope to wow the judges and spectators with their singing prowess. Season 23 of the famed competitive series debuts Monday, March 6 at 8 p.m. ET.

Neil Salsich, 34, one of the participants, had an early start in his career. He started playing his father’s instrument when he was six years old and has been singing regularly since he was 18. Neil is part of the ensemble The Mighty Pines, but he will appear on The Voice as an individual.

The main singer of The Mighty Pines is Neil Salsich.

Neil Salsich, a musician, lived in southern St. Louis throughout his childhood and attended St. Margaret’s of Scotland School. He then attended Louis University High School. Neil Salsich has two younger sisters, Lizzie and Maya. Salsich learned to use his father’s radio when he was six years old because he wanted to listen to Ramblin’ Man repeatedly. Neil gave his first instrumental concert at Hartford Coffee when he was 16 years old. He graduated from university in 2012 and subsequently founded the ensemble Acoustics Anonymous.

Salsich, the band’s lead vocalist, changed the nickname to The Mighty Pines in 2016. The ensemble is currently touring around the country and has opened for artists such as The Dead South, Parker Millsap, Fruition, and Sam Bush. Their music is influenced by ‘country, folk, bluegrass, blues, soul and jazz’. Late Last Night, Ideas Arrive Running and Time Slows Down are among the band’s most famous recordings. Neil regularly adapts other artists’ tracks, and his approach is ’60s and 70s recorded’. He has over 1400 Instagram fans and regularly plays local taverns, cafes and clubs.

Learn more about The Voice season 23

The Voice season 23 follows the same structure as the previous season, with contestants joining the show only after impressing the judges with their singing in open tryouts. The judges for the season, Chance the Rapper, Niall Horan, Kelly Clarkson and Blake Shelton, will not be able to see the artist’s face and will only move their swivel chairs if they want the contestants on their teams for the next round:

• Battle Rounds: Two artists from the same squad fight to advance to the next round.
• Knockouts: Two vocalists from the same squad play songs of different styles.
• Playoffs: After a fierce battle, seven artists from each team advance to the final round.
• Performing Live Shows: The public chooses the surviving performers and decides who wins the program.

During the preliminary stages, the judges have the opportunity to “take” one candidate from the opponent. They will also have the option to “save” one of their performers from elimination. The winner of the challenge will receive a cash reward of $100,000, as well as an audio CD.

The following is NBC’s summary of The Voice:

“Contestants are chosen through public tryouts and are taught by a group of four trainers who direct and evaluate their performances in search of America’s next great talent.”

Every Monday and Tuesday at 8 p.m. ET, NBC airs new parts of The Voice. The challenging series will be available to watch on the Peacock streaming app.