About Willy B
Willy B: born in Miami, raised on Motown, classic rock and Trick Daddy.
William “Willy B” Hurwitz picked up the harmonica around sixteen and never put it down. Today he plays private events across Miami and South Florida, writes songs live about the people in the room, and teaches guitar, piano, voice and harmonica.
Who he is
William “Willy B” Hurwitz is a Miami-raised harmonica player, singer and multi-instrumentalist (guitar, piano, vocals). He performs as a one-man band at private events, weddings and corporate events across Miami and South Florida, and his signature is writing songs live about the people in the room. He can also plan and book the music for an entire event, plays and produces in the studio, and teaches guitar, piano, voice and harmonica in Miami and online. A University of Miami graduate in psychology and communication studies with a master’s in psychology, he spent years in cancer research at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center, where he co-authored a published study on piano lessons for breast cancer survivors.
- Born and raised
- Miami, Florida
- Plays
- Harmonica, guitar, piano, vocals
- The show
- One-man band, built on live looping
- Signature
- Songs written live about your guests
- Performing professionally since
- 2013
- Education
- University of Miami (psychology and communication studies); master’s in psychology, New York
- Radio
- Hosted The Jamtastic Voyage, WVUM 90.5 (about four years)
- Research
- Co-author, Oncology Nursing Forum (2019)
- Now making
- Debut album “Willy B Plays”
Roots: a Detroit mom, a Canadian dad, a Miami kid
Willy grew up in Miami in the ’90s in a house full of music. His mom grew up in Detroit, so there was Motown, funk, soul and blues: the Jackson 5, Diana Ross, the Supremes, James Brown. His dad, a Canadian, brought classic rock, classical and jazz: James Taylor, Chuck Mangione, Ravi Shankar, Jimi Hendrix, Led Zeppelin.
And it was the ’90s in Miami, so there was hip hop too: Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Ludacris, and Miami’s own Trick Daddy, part of a long Miami music history. You can hear those roots in his sets.
The harmonica: nobody else was playing it
Around sixteen, he and his friends started jamming along to the Grateful Dead, each grabbing an instrument. Nobody had the harmonica, so he took it. He taught himself on YouTube and, by his own account, was “really bad at first.” He fell in love with it anyway.
At seventeen and eighteen he was sneaking into jam sessions to play with jazz heads he “should not have had any business playing music with.” He kept going back. Hire the harmonica, or learn it from him.
On the air
In college he ran a blues show on Florida International University’s radio station. After transferring to the University of Miami, he hosted “The Jamtastic Voyage” on WVUM 90.5 for about four years: interviewing bands, putting on shows, learning live radio production. He was also the station’s promotions and marketing manager.
Along the way he taught himself guitar, around nineteen, then piano, both through YouTube. Then came singing, then songwriting. By his early twenties, in his words, he was “really getting bitten by this music bug.” He graduated from UM with a double major in psychology and communication studies.
New York: moonlighting
Around twenty-three he moved to New York for a master’s in psychology. By day: full-time classes and two psychology research labs. By night: music. He played Rockwood Music Hall and Webster Hall, and got hired for events and gigs across the city.
The research years
Back in Miami in his mid-twenties, he went to work in cancer research at the University of Miami’s Sylvester Comprehensive Cancer Center as a clinical research coordinator. Among other studies, he co-authored a published paper on individualized piano instruction for breast cancer survivors (Oncology Nursing Forum, 2019).
He never stopped playing. On the side came gigs, recording sessions and production work.
Going full time
Eventually the music won. He left the cancer center, started his own business, and built a solo show: a one-man band looping drums, bass and keys live, with guitar, harmonica and vocals on top.
Then he realized two things. He could curate a set to the people who hired him. And he could write songs about them, on the spot. Clients started sending him their stories, and the songs about them became his signature. Custom songs.
Today he plays private events across Miami and South Florida, plans and books the music for whole events, and gives private lessons to students from age 7 to seniors: guitar, piano, voice and harmonica (all lessons).
He has also done stage management and production for some New World Symphony festivals and performances, and spent eight years in marketing and merchandising for the GroundUP Music Festival. He runs a music program for kids at CARE Elementary School, a tuition-free nonprofit school in Miami. And he sang God Bless America during the seventh-inning stretch at a Miami Marlins game (September 27, 2026).
His own music
He has released three tracks of his own and is making a five-track debut album, “Willy B Plays.” Same soul, same harmonica, same Miami sass. Want him in your studio instead? Studio sessions.
He also plays in The Harp Machine, a duo with Venezuelan electric-harp player Leonard Jacome. They played the Marigny Opera House in New Orleans on April 24, 2025, the first night of Jazz Fest.
I decided to play the harmonica because nobody was playing harmonica.