Für Fans von: Folk & Blues, Rock, Country, Indie & Alternative, und Pop.
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Dennen’s career began as an adolescent when he was given a guitar. He was naturally creative, and it wasn’t long before he started to pen some of his first songs.
An eponymous album was released on the label Three Angels and A Saint Records, which was produced by Dennen alongside Leslie Merical. It was a live performance that Denzyl Feigelson from iTunes witnessed, where he heard Dennen perform his own songs, Feigelson, was adamant to get the CD to Chris Douridas from KCRW. It was Douridas who made sure that the song “Desert Sunrise” was played on his Valentines show in 2004. Fortunately, the track was heard by Dualtone Records and ultimately a record deal was signed between Dennen and Dualtone.
He released his second album “So Much More” in September 2006 under his new label and it wasn’t long that the record was sitting firmly at the top of the folk charts. He even gained critical acclaim from John Mayer, who stated, “He paints these gorgeous pictures musically”. Fortunately, this led to Dennen supporting John Mayer on tour with him.
Still on Dualtone Records, Dennen released a live EP entitled “(More) So Much More” and then his third full-length album “Hope for the Hopeless” the following year on October 21st 2008. The album made it to number 41 on the Billboard 200, and even number 4 on the Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart. The album featured a video for “Make You Crazy” which featured actress, Mandy Moore. There was also a single on the album called “Heaven” which featured 10,000 Maniacs alumnus, Natalie Merchant.
Still on Dualtone, Dennen released an album called “Loverboy” on April 12th 2011, but then following a departure with the label signing to F-Stop, a division off Atlantic Records and on October 22nd 2013, released “Smoke and Mirrors”. The album made it to number 65 on the Billboard 200 chart and number 10 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums chart.
Brett Dennen is one of the rare artists who is able to energize an audience with a setlist composed of only mellow, soft-spoken tracks. Writing mostly about love and relationships, his voice draws on with the heaviness of a fragile heart, but watching him live still manages to be a joy. Perhaps it is the way he articulates pain, or the way he navigates his instrument, but audiences of his live performances are certainly enticed by the singer the minute he is on stage.
I do have to say, Brett Dennen is a bit of anomaly. His look is rather eclectic and certainly isn’t consistent with his old-timey voice, but perhaps what he lacks in stage presence he makes up for in sheer technical talent. Brennen is a masterful guitarist, sliding up and down the instrument with a smooth groove that adds an important layer to his high-toned voice. His live performances make it clear he isn’t new to the stage either, and there is a certain familiarity about him that puts his audience at ease. You won’t find people moshing, jumping, or yelling at a Brett Dennen show, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t know how to excite a crowd—it is an absolute thrill to watch him own the stage with his compositions, and even more exciting to hear him play some of his old classics like “Ain’t No Reason.” If you have the chance to see him perform live, I wouldn’t miss him.