Features : Aiden Brown brings a wealth of talent, style and dedication to his brand of bluegrass and country

Aiden Brown doesn’t have a lot of music out yet, a recently released six-track album and a couple of singles, one of which, “Elisabeth,” is on the album, ’Cross Rivers, O’er Valleys.

But what music there is will make you want more, whether you are a fan of country, his chosen genre, or a fan of bluegrass, blues, pop, or rock, which all play a strong part in his distinctive kind of country.

“There's so many different ways that you can do country, and I just like trying them all out because I love music in general,” he said.

“Loving Me Too,” from the album, has a rock feeling, maybe “a little poppy.” It is country in the guitar work and lyrics (“I went and found somebody new / to keep me awake at night”), but it has “rock style choruses that I really like” and other instrumentation that takes it to a different plane.

Another, “Only Way Home,” is more poppy but has pedal steel, while “Elisabeth,” released as a single in January, with strong fiddle work, is more “like straight bluegrass, which I really, really love.” “Black Like the River” has a strong blues feel. In his bar gigs, Aiden plays some old-school Delta blues, including covers of Robert Johnson songs.

“With the different styles of music,” he said, “I have a pretty open mind when it comes to what country is and what it can be, and the music that can be created.”

He has just turned 18, but that is 18 with a clear focus on making, playing and performing music. He graduated from high school a year early to devote himself to a career as a musical artist and works full time to finance his startup.

He was always a serious musician, though he wasn’t always bluegrass. He played in high school bands, “stuff like most musicians do,” but “no one has ever seemed as serious as me at such a young age.”

“You know, you get through college, you do the party thing, and then you realize, ‘Okay, I gotta make music work.”

“I thought about college for a while,” he said. “That was before I started gigging, and then I just started playing shows a lot. Now I’m playing them one or two times a week, usually. That's what I wanted to do.”

Country wasn’t on his playlist at first, growing up in the Indianapolis area of Indiana. His father’s parents, though, were from rural Kentucky, and four or five years ago, they moved back to Kentucky.

On his way to visit them one time, he “fell in love” with Kentucky, and it also just happened that while there, his music streaming service randomly brought up Tyler Childers’ “Lady May.” His love of country was born.

He now lists Childers, Zach Bryan and Flatland Cavalry as some of his primary influences and favorite artists.

His music, lyrics and vocals, and the way he controls his voice, are all fully mature, and in all of it the joy of his artistry is plain to hear.

“I've been fully invested at a young age for a long time, being 18, and putting everything I have into it. I mean, I work full time to have the money to do this and play gigs all the time.”

His career goals are specific but flexible. An independent career appeals to him, but he is open to signing with someone if the right deal comes along. A publishing contract, which would allow him the freedom of independence and ownership of his music, “would be great, too, just so more people can see my music.”

“I want music to be my life is pretty much the bottom line,” he said.

He knows where he wants to go, but the route is yet to be determined. A career as an independent seems to him at this point to be the better choice.

“It’s a scary thing,” he said, “trying to make a career out of this and not going to college when you’re not making great money off the bat.”

But his love for music has set the direction for him, and his desire is to perform, with a band, in front of live audiences.

“My biggest goal right now, just because of how much I love music, is to get into a position so that I'm playing shows rather than gigs. I love the music I write and it's by far my favorite thing to play, and nothing sounds more appealing to me than having people come out specifically to see me, to hear my music.”

Connect with Aiden Brown on all platforms for new music, videos, and social posts to follow him and his music.

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