SAN DIEGO, Calif. — As the investigation continues into a tragic plane crash in San Diego, California, more details are emerging about some of the individuals involved. Among those who lost their lives were three employees of a music agency.
Sound Talent Group, a company that has represented prominent alternative bands in genres like pop-punk, metal, and hard rock, confirmed that the agency’s co-founder, Dave Shapiro, along with booking associates Kendall Fortner and Emma Lynn Huke, were among the victims of the crash that occurred on Thursday.
On the San Diego Medical Examiner’s Office website, 36-year-old Celina Marie Rose Kenyon was listed as a victim. She was a photographer and a mother.
Two other people aboard the plane who have not been identified are presumed dead.
Here’s what we know about the Sound Talent Group employees killed in the crash.
Dave Shapiro
Shapiro co-founded Sound Talent Group in 2018 with Tim Borror and Matt Andersen.
The 42-year-old had a pilot’s license and was listed as the owner of the plane that crashed, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Dave Shapiro was known for his unwavering support of independent musicians and was instrumental in establishing the National Independent Talent Organization. He was also recognized in Billboard’s 2012 “30 Under 30” list, which honors up-and-coming talents in the entertainment industry.
Shapiro grew up in upstate New York in the “straightedge hard-core” scene, a subculture that promotes not using drugs and alcohol in reaction to mainstream punk.
In high school, he started a band with his friends and got signed with Victory Records right when they graduated. They toured for a few years, during which he made connections in the music industry that would help his foray into the business side.
Shapiro said he became instantly hooked on aviation after taking his first intro flight at age 22. He seemed to love music and flying with equal passion, at one point opening an office of his talent agency at a hangar in San Diego.
Flying “helps me focus and helps me not be distracted by all the nonsense in the world, and whatever’s going on outside the plane kind of doesn’t matter in those moments,” Shapiro said in a 2020 podcast interview.
Shapiro owned a flight school called Velocity Aviation and a record label, Velocity Records.
He offered flights in both San Diego and Homer, Alaska, where he and his wife, Julia Pawlik Shapiro, owned a home, according to his online posts.
Shapiro married his wife in 2016 in the small town of Talkeetna, Alaska. They picked up their wedding licenses, got on a plane and flew to a glacier inside Denali National Park, landing with skis strapped to the plane’s wheels.
“When I met Dave, we became instantly bonded over the unconventional lifestyles we lead and our constant need for adventure,” she wrote in a blog post.
In 2019, he posted on Instagram that he had obtained his airline transport pilot rating, the highest level of certification issued by the U.S.
“Although I have a career and don’t plan to change that I always want to learn more and be a better pilot,’ he wrote. He was also an adrenaline junkie who enjoyed base-jumping.
Kendall Fortner
Fortner’s love for music began at an early age when her father began taking her to concerts.
According to Sound Talent Group, the 24-year-old loved all genres, from doo-wop to classic rock.
She taught herself to play multiple instruments, including the piano and guitar. She was born in Glendale and was raised in Santa Clarita.
Fortner attended West Ranch High School before graduating from San Diego State University in 2021 with a degree in business.
Having interned with Sound Talent Group in college, Fortner joined the company right after graduation as a booking associate.
“As early as her teenage years, Kendall had shown an interest in working on the business side of music, and the job at STG was a perfect fit that showcased her work ethic and ability to plan tours and festivals nationwide,” said the music agency.
Fortner was described as “the life of the party” and someone who lit up any room she entered.
She is survived by her parents Gary and Kristin, her brother Justin and his wife Hannah and their son, Theo, and her brother Jordan and his wife Kailey.
Emma Lynn Huke
Huke was born and raised in Orange County and knew very early on that she wanted to work in the music industry.
She was an avid dancer and was a part of a national championship-winning dance team at Santa Margarita Catholic High School.
After graduating from the University of Oregon in 2022 with a degree in journalism, Huke completed several internships in the music industry before joining Sound Talent Group in 2024 as a booking associate.
“There was nothing Emma loved more than live music,” said the agency. “She worked hard to save up money so she could travel to concerts and festivals. And while she loved all genres of music, her favorite artists to see live were Taylor Swift and The 1975.”
Huke also helped organize, plan and promote some of the agency’s biggest tours. Clients and friends called Huke “a force of nature” who brought joy and a light to everyone in her presence.
Huke is survived by her parents, Tim and Allison, and her younger sibling, Ellis.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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