Nate Gagon

Owner / GM / Booking & Events Coordinator / Audio Engineer / Songwriter / Producer / Musician

In addition to being an owner, Nate Gagon serves as general manager of The Rise, overseeing and coordinating all aspects of the business, staff, and facility. Nate’s background both in business and the arts prepared him to function in these positions.

Nate first discovered that he had an ability to hear and create music in his mind while in school at Brighton High School. He would write an entire song in his mind first, and then sit down at the piano and figure out how to bring the song to life in the real world with virtually no knowledge of music theory such as keys, time signatures, etc. He continued to develop these skills, and in 2005 released an album titled “Moments of Your Life” featuring 13 of his original songs, in a collaboration effort with many of the top artists, musicians and producers in Utah.

Just as he taught himself piano and songwriting, Nate also taught himself audio engineering on Pro Tools starting around 2007 after his parents built a recording studio in their basement, and he has since spent thousands of hours writing, recording, editing and producing his own music as well as for others. In 2015, Nate wrote music and script for an original pop musical titled A Father’s Day, which has been produced locally several times and is now being made into a film in conjunction with COMV, a Utah film production company.

Nate also loves to write fiction and nonfiction literature. He spent a year writing sports articles for the Deseret News, recently finished his first novel, Breaking Dad, and has ghostwritten for other authors. Over the years he has had several jobs in banking/finance, including serving as finance manager for a publically-traded, internationally-owned tech company from 2011-2016. Prior to purchasing The Rise in July 2018, Nate owned and operated Gaxagon Media.

In his personal life Nate’s family is his primary love and motivation, especially his wife and three children. He also has a passion for sports, is pretty much the czar of fantasy baseball, and believes that love is the most powerful and versatile resource we can possess – both in individuals and in the world. He also still knows very little music theory.

Megan Gagon

Owner / Bookkeeper / Facilities Manager

In addition to being the actual boss, Megan works part-time for The Rise coordinating marketing and social media and overseeing the design, care, maintenance, and upgrades of The Rise facility.

Megan has served as finance and office manager for Professional Systems Technology, a locally-owned low voltage systems integrator company, since 2007.

Megan’s family is her pride and joy. She is also borderline obsessed with dogs, especially her late bulldog, Scout, and her new bulldog puppy, Mia. She tolerates Nate’s jack russell, Murdock. In her free time – like she has any – Megan enjoys the outdoors, playing basketball, and spending time with those she loves. She is also a budding fantasy football superstar, having won her pro leagues the last two seasons.

Nathan Theriault

Partner / Operations Manager / Audio Engineer / Booking Agent / Songwriter / Musician / Singer

Nate Theriault joined The Rise team officially in January 2019 and quickly proved himself as a hard-working, creative, multi-talented asset to the cause.

As the front-man for the band “Skies Like Rockets,” that he founded in 2017, Nate has polished his skills as a songwriter, musician, and singer.

Nate has booked some of The Rise’s biggest events in 2019 and is quickly building an impressive clientele as a recording engineer. He also runs live sound for many of our concerts and other events.

Nate is an avid snowboarder in the winter and long-boarder in the summer. He lived most of his formative years in Seattle, playing baseball, riding horses, and mountain climbing.

Oba Bonner

Producer / Songwriter / Singer / Audio Engineer 

O/B/A is a pop / hip-hop recording artist. Writing songs from start to finish at age 9, O/B/A is no stranger to making music. His high energy performance style and explosive delivery is contagious! From the Apollo Theater in Harlem to corporate performances to House of Blues shows, he entertains all. Although he is only 24-years old, O/B/A has already worked with notable mainstream artists like Jojo, Queen Latifah, Why Don’t We and others. His unique style is a breath of fresh air to the pop / hip-hop world. The young singer routinely complements his heartfelt vocal tone with a lyrical rap delivery. When the Las Vegas native is on stage, his presence evokes an essence that is authentic, charismatic and energetic.

When he’s not working on his own music, you can often find Oba at The Rise producing and recording a fast-growing list of talented artists.