Ludwig is the son of a Filipino mother and a Russian-Jewish father. He grew up in Los Angeles, California. He attended Oakwood School and began playing saxophone in the fourth grade due to his school's support for performing arts. Ludwig grew fond of jazz music and performed in the school's jazz band during his middle school years. Ludwig learned to play the French horn in high school but decided to apply to college as a trumpet player. He started off by teaching himself how to play the trumpet going into his senior year of high school. He recorded and sent audition CDs to various schools. He was accepted to California Institute of the Arts where he studied jazz. He supported his way through school by playing with local bands from Los Angeles and teaching trumpet part-time at his former high school.
Career
Ludwig was part of the local Los Angeles music scene, performing with numerous bands.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-jamFeed-1| He began performing while in college, forming a cover band with friends that graduated from Oakwood School a few years before him.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-GainsevillScheeLudwit-2| It was in 2012 that Ludwig got his break with a major band.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-GainsevillScheeLudwit-2| While playing a local music festival with a band called Sister Rogers in 2012, Capital Cities band members Ryan Merchant and Sebu Simonian watched him perform, later asking him to join the group as its trumpet player.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-jamFeed-1|Spencer Ludwig#cite note-GainsevillScheeLudwit-2| Ludwig shifted his focus to solely playing trumpet and recorded and toured with the group for the next three years.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-jamFeed-1| He recorded trumpet on the group's platinum debut album In a Tidal Wave of Mystery.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-3| In 2015 Ludwig signed a deal with Warner Bros. Records as a solo artist.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-NYTimeCptcities-4|In July 2016 he released his first two singles Diggy and Right Into U.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-7| The song "Diggy" was featured in Target's fall style TV spot, which premiered on September 14, 2016.Spencer Ludwig#cite note-8| "Diggy" also appeared in the video gameJust Dance 2018. In 2018 Ludwig left Warner Bros. Records to pursue a career as an independent artist. In March 2018 he released his first single as an independent artist "Just Wanna Dance" and recently he collaborated with five-time Latin Grammy winnerFonseca on a new single called "Por Pura Curiosidad".
