Forty Under 40: Neil Greenhaw

After earning a music degree from John Brown University in December 2004, Neil Greenhaw moved to Nashville, Tenn. He toured the world professionally for three years as an electric guitarist for The Katinas and other Christian artists before returning to Northwest Arkansas.

He set up his first recording studio at home, and the vision formed there for doing something similar on a more influential scale.

In 2011, he launched Haxton Road Studios in downtown Bentonville. The commercial recording studio is unique because it caters to both recording artists and businesses — business segments that are split roughly 50-50. Musicians from throughout the country frequent the studios. A sampling of the company’s business client list includes Walmart, Amazon, Microsoft and Coca-Cola.

“Haxton Road is where art and business collide,” Greenhaw said.

The company has grown to include a music publishing company and a production training program. A two-building complex of mixed-use space called Haxton District houses all of it. It’s 20,000 square feet of space owned by Greenhaw.

Greenhaw said the inspiration for Haxton District is twofold — investing in the community by offering professional music production and creating an ecosystem that fosters the company’s “art and business” tagline.

Married with two daughters, Greenhaw said his ambitions include diversifying his real estate portfolio. He and his wife, Lauren, will soon launch a real estate company called Greenhaw Development. He said the Haxton business has “a couple of things” in the works that will arguably be significant. Greenhaw is also planning to get a pilot’s license.

Early in 2020, the Greater Bentonville Area Chamber of Commerce appointed Greenhaw to its executive board.