From Storytelling to the Top 40: How Two Creative Entrepreneurs Built Cosmic Spin

Long before their music reached national radio charts, Bara Waters and Robert Cassard used storytelling to move audiences in a different way. Through Edge Films, the video production company they operated from 1997 to 2001, they made music videos and fundraising films for nonprofit organizations, including presentations shown at gala dinners where a well-told story inspires people to open their hearts and their wallets. Nearly three decades later, that philosophy runs through Cosmic Spin, the alternative-folk duo the couple built around their lifelong musical partnership.

Partners in Business and Music

Waters and Cassard are lifelong musicians who also built careers as professional marketers and creative entrepreneurs. Their work together spans songwriting, recording, video production, branding and web development. In 2002 they established Waters Cassard Creative Services, which continues to encompass all their commercial creative work and musical activities.

That business experience matters in an industry where independent artists often manage recording, distribution, branding, audience development and promotion themselves. Cassard says their marketing experience helps them reach audiences but doesn't dictate their creative choices:

"We've spent our careers helping other people tell their stories. With Cosmic Spin, we get to tell our own. Our marketing skills help us build the Cosmic Spin brand and find an audience, but we make the music for ourselves. If we love it, we trust other people will, too."

— Robert Cassard, Cosmic Spin

The Music Was Always There

Cassard began playing guitar, singing and writing songs at eight and was performing professionally by ten. As a teenager he recorded the acoustic singer-songwriter album "Over the Line," beginning a recording career spanning folk, rock, jazz and other hybrids. Waters, a singer, songwriter, and vocal arranger, began making music early, playing guitar and cello. Her distinctive voice and love of layered harmonies became essential to the duo's sound. In the mid-1990s the couple wrote and recorded the indie-rock album "Get This," later remastered and expanded for digital release.

Groovy Electric Folk

The duo calls its sound Groovy Electric Folk, blending alternative folk, rock, pop, country, psychedelia and groove-based production. Their arrangements combine layered guitars, soulful vocal harmonies and inventive rhythms and loops, and alongside original songs they reimagine classic tunes from the 1960s to today. Their sound has been described as "Fleetwood Mac meets boygenius." Waters explains the name:

"We've always loved taking familiar songs and turning them into something unexpected. We mix genres, play with arrangements, and follow our imaginations wherever they lead. Our goal is to take listeners on a mind-expanding musical journey — a Cosmic Spin."

— Bara Waters, Cosmic Spin

An Independent Route to the Top 40

In 2025, Cosmic Spin's reinterpretation of a song by The Jayhawks, "A Break in the Clouds," entered the U.S. Mediabase Top 40 radio charts, peaking at #35 on Contemporary Hit Radio and #29 on Hot Adult Contemporary. In 2026 the original "Messenger" followed, reaching #37 on CHR and #30 on Hot AC. The duo has also had singles top the UK iTunes Alternative Folk chart, and their originals and reimagined covers have collectively passed one million Spotify streams.

For musicians working outside the major-label system, those milestones show that independent artists can find audiences without giving up creative control. You can hear the music on Spotify, Apple Music and other major platforms.

The Power of a Majority of One

That philosophy takes centre stage in "Majority of One," recorded live during a performance at the Napa Valley Expo for the ALS Network. The song combines a reggae-influenced groove with the duo's vocal harmonies, and its message is that meaningful change often begins with a single person willing to take action. The release came weeks before the November midterm elections, though Waters says the song is not about telling people what to believe. "It's about recognizing what we share, finding common ground, and encouraging each of us to contribute in our own unique way," she said.

For Cassard, the song connects back to their fundraising films.

"When we started making fundraising films, we saw how real human stories inspired people to dig deep. And how the first few who gave generously inspired others to give more. That's what Majority of One is about. It starts with one person willing to commit. That inspires others, a movement grows, and together they create positive change."

— Robert Cassard, Cosmic Spin

Still Exploring, Still Creating

Waters and Cassard continue to book live performances, festivals, corporate events, and private celebrations while developing new original recordings. Cassard also hosts the Robert Cassard YouTube channel, where more than 50,000 subscribers explore guitars, singing, songwriting and recording; his biography has more on his background. For the duo, success is measured not only in chart positions or streaming numbers, but in making music they believe in and sharing it with people who appreciate it.