Suzie Brown

Genre: Singer/Songwriter
Secondary Genre: Acoustic Philadelphia, Pennsylvania USA Contact

Cardiologist turned singer-songwriter, Best of Philly 2010 for music talent. The easy familiarity of Brown's melodies harkens back to Carole King's folk-pop creations, while the yearning sweetness in her voice recalls the down-home intimacy of Patty Griffin.

Artist Information

Biography

While contemplating your goal of being a music star, it’s smart to have something to fall back on. For singer-songwriter Suzie Brown, that meant getting her MD at Harvard, a Master of Science in Translational Research from the University of Pennsylvania, then practicing cardiology. That’s right, Brown—whose first full-length, Heartstrings, was released May 24, 2011—is no slacker. And it’s with that same resolve that she decided one day to defer her dream no longer.

It happened at her friend’s wedding in June 2008. Brown was goaded to jump on stage at the reception, where she sang one of her favorite tunes, Bonnie Raitt’s “Angel From Montgomery.” The crowd fell silent. This, she discovered, was a good thing: They were awestruck by her honey-twanged voice. “The whole weekend, people were coming up to me asking if I was a musician,” says Brown. “It gave me that little bit of extra confidence I need to take the plunge and start writing songs.” Just six months later, she’d find fans in folk-jazz artist Amos Lee and country great Lyle Lovett. A year after that, she was named the “Best of Philly” for music talent by Philadelphia magazine:

"Bluesy, folky, achy, sweet-voiced Suzie Brown. A practicing cardiologist pursuing a career in singing (her own songs) and playing the guitar, she's part Emmylou Harris, part Allison Krauss, and totally worth seeing. (Try Tin Angel). Or even just hearing..."

Her burgeoning career has continued to move at a rapid pace. By early 2009, she sold out her first solo show at the Tin Angel—that very club she used to frequent as a fan. Before long, she was opening for Lyle Lovett at the local concert hall. Just nine months after that, she had written enough material for a self-released EP called Side Streets. Says Brown, “I had this realization that music made me way too happy to commit my whole life to medicine.” It was a pinch-me moment: Realizing her potential, Brown found a part-time clinical job to pay the bills, and has since devoted herself to making music. “Things have moved along fairly quickly,” says the ever-effervescent Brown. We’ll say: In two years, she’s gone from composing her first song to releasing her first full-length album. Says Brown, “I can’t believe this is my life.”

Awards/honors:
Winner, 'Best of Philly' for music talent 2010
Winner, Best Female Singer-Songwriter, Origivation Magazine's Readers' Choice Awards 2010
Semi-finalist, International Songwriting Competition 2010
Runner up, Connecticut Folk Festival Songwriting contest 2010
Honorable Mention, SongCircle Songwriting contest 2010
'I'll Be Gone' from Heartstrings featured in the May 2011 Taste of Triple A Sampler
Winner, Quad showcase at New England Regional Folk Alliance Conference 2011
Winner, Artist of the Month on myruralradio.com July 2012

For more information: www.suziebrownsongs.com
Booking: booking@suziebrownsongs.com
Publicity: publicity@suziebrownsongs.com
Triple A Radio Contact: JB Brenner/818-707-1851/jb@jbbrenner.com
Americana Radio contact: Al Moss/ 615-297-0258/ almosspromo@gmail.com

Instrumentation

Spencer Cohen - Drums
David Streim - Wurlitzer Piano, Vocal Harmonies
Will Wright - Bass
Matt Kass - Electric Guitar

Discography

Side Streets, EP released 9/12/09. "That Fence" (track one on the EP) was the WXPN pick of the day on 7/31/09, and the record was featured as one of 2009's best local releases by Helen Leicht of WXPN. In addition to regular airplay on WXPN, the record has been featured on West Chester's WCHE, New England's WICN, Vermont's WRUV, and other regional stations.

Heartstrings, LP, released 5/24/11. Produced by Barrie Maguire (credits include Amos Lee, Rickie Lee Jones, Natalie Merchant). Current radio play on: WXPN, WZBC, WMBR, KDNK, WETS, WIKS, WBSD, KPFT, KVMR, WCOO, WVGN, WZBC, WGCS, KBCS, WXLV, KNBA, WMWV, KTAO, WETS, KVNF, KEOS, WUMB

Heartstrings was also picked up by PlayNetwork - with distribution to Starbucks, Gap, major grocery stores, Seattle's Best Coffee, Anthropologie, Eddie Bauer, and others

Internet radio: Freight Train Boogie podcast, Radio Free Americana

Official Website

http://www.suziebrownsongs.com

Links

Audio

Lyrics

Video

Heartstrings Final Video.mov

Photo Gallery

Press

  • Film at 11: Suzie Brown [+ Show ]

    "When it comes to MAGNET’s home base of Philadelphia, we’ve always been a little biased. But that’s ...

  • Blood Makes Noise [+ Show ]

    "Heartstrings (Freshie) doesn't sound like the work of someone so green. It's twangier than Brown's ...

  • Cardiologist/Singer Inspires to Pursue Your Passion [+ Show ]

    "Suzie Brown is a cardiologist AND a beautiful singer/songwriter. . . But what I find truly inspi...

  • The strumming, singing cardiologist [+ Show ]

    "Her songs showcase her smooth fingerpicking and clear voice. Some are ballads with a dash of countr...

  • Best of Philly 2010 [+ Show ]

    Bluesy, folky, achy, sweet-voiced Suzie Brown. A practicing cardiologist pursuing a career in singi...

  • Heart doc prescribes her Tin Angel gig tomorrow [+ Show ]

    Nobody's more amazed than Suzie Brown at how music has changed her life. Tomorrow night at Tin An...

  • With singer Suzie Brown, it's always about heart [+ Show ]

    This is a story about heart — studying it, following it and singing with all of it. Much of Suzie...

  • Following Her Heart [+ Show ]

    "I've never written creatively before this. I've never written in a journal. The only type of writ...

Setlist

Originals: You Can Lie, Round the Sun, Mission Control, Part of Me, Longest Road, Take Your Time, That Fence, Side Streets, Over and Done, Nice Girl, Serendipity, Peace of Mind, Waiting For September, Heart Strings, Lonesome Moon, Easily Amused, I'll Be Gone, Maybe I Will, Song For Amy, What You Do to Me. Covers: Long Road (Patty Griffin), Miss Ohio (Gillian Welch), Angel From Montgomery (John Prine), By the Mark (Gillian Welch), Mighty Tight Woman (Sippie Wallace/Bonnie Raitt), Sugar In My Bowl (Nina Simone) My set lists vary based on the venue and time allotted.

Basic Requirements


Calendar

DateTimeVenueCity
May 24, 2013 Friday 7:00 PM Steel City Coffee House Phoenixville, PA, US
May 25, 2013 Saturday 7:00 PM World Cafe Live at the Queen Wilmington, DE, US
Jun 14, 2013 Friday 8:00 PM World Cafe Live at the Queen Wilmington, DE, US
Jun 19, 2013 Wednesday 7:30 PM Two blocks West of Germantown Avenue, South of Gravers and North of Willow Grove Philadelphia, PA, US
Jun 21, 2013 Friday 8:00 PM Milkboy Coffee Ardmore Ardmore, PA, US
Jun 22, 2013 Saturday 7:30 PM House Concert Port Washington, NY, US
Jun 23, 2013 Sunday 5:00 PM Rockwood Music Hall New York, NY, US
Jun 25, 2013 Tuesday 8:00 PM Lizard Lounge Cambridge, MA, US
Jun 28, 2013 Friday 6:00 PM Bliss Ridge Farm Moretown, VT, US
Jun 30, 2013 Sunday 7:30 PM One Caroline Bistro Saratoga Springs, NY, US