Brinn Black

Aspiring singer/songwriter, Brinn Black, brings a taste of small town Virginia to Music City — In a big, big way. With vocals comparable to Carrie Underwood and Sara Evans, Miss Black is a powerhouse and a force to reckoned with. Her music blurs the lines between pop and country. It’s Kelly Clarkson meets Martina Mcbride with a touch of individuality.

What’s more, is Brinn Black is not only chasing her dreams, she is making a difference. During the Music City Flood of 2010, the MTSU alum worked with Wal-Mart on a flood relief project called, “Stuff the Truck,” supplying an 18 Wheeler full of much-needed essentials to victims here in Middle Tennessee. This garnered Miss Black some well-deserved accreditation, as well as a national feature for her music video for “Not That Girl” in Journey’s Shoe stores across the country.

Miss Black recently put out a 7 song EP entitled, “Get Mad,” featuring a range of up tempo tunes, a few ballads, and our favorite, “That Should Have Been Us.” She is currently residing in Nashville, where you can find her out and about several nights, hitting the stage or just doing her thing. Visit her website for more info on upcoming shows and projects!
- Young Music City

Wow! I have seen Brinn Black perform at The Commodore (http://www.commodoregrille.com) The Tin Roof (http://www.tinroofbars.com/Home/Nashville) The Red Rooster (http://www.redroosternashville.com) and now the Listening Room (http://www.listeningroomcafe.com) Whether she is accompanying herself on the guitar, is doing an acoustic set with guitar accompaniment, or playing with a band, you will not be disappointed with Brinn’s performance.



Nobody in Nashville works harder or has more fun performing than Brinn Black. And it showed magnificently at this evening’s review at Chris Blair’s Listening Room Café. Brinn is a busy young lady as witnessed by her recent awards. She is Strum Magazine’s (http://strummagazine.com) Best New Unsigned Artist of the Year and has recently been named Most Promising New Artist by the Music Pioneers of America.



On this evening Brinn’s band was hot too. Lead guitar duties were handled by Paul Lindquist. Marcelo Bakos was the Bass player while John Singer was on the drums. Jason Gregory handled rhythm guitar on both acoustic and electric as well as acoustic accompaniment for Brinn. This would be a great band for any artist but Brinn had them tonight.



Incidentally the sound system at the Listening Room is from Bose (http://www.bose.com) and it is the best system in all of Nashville. Singers whose words seem muddled at other venues in town are crystal clear when they sing at the Listening Room. Everyone in the room can hear perfectly. Many times when I am shooting pictures I am standing within a foot of the Bose towers but somehow I can still hear the next day. This isn’t true of all sound systems. You can also hand some credit to Ben and Jimmy who are a couple of the best sound men in town.



Brinn Black is a great performer, a pleasure to watch on stage, and a skillful songwriter to boot. Check her out at http://brinnblack.com on MySpace.com or any of the music and social networking Web sites. Better yet, see her in person if you get the chance. Her latest Single is “Not That Girl.” Enjoy Brinn Black because she has got it right.
- Examiner.com

Brinn Black was in sixth grade when one of her mother’s former chorus students at Thomas Dale High School left Chester for Nashville to pursue a country music career. Inspired by Jamie Mallon’s example, Black, also a vocalist, told her mother “if Jamie can do it, I can too.”

So Black’s mother, Sandy Thomas, who performed with the Miami Opera before moving to Virginia and becoming a teacher, wasn’t surprised when her daughter packed her bags and moved to Nashville two months after her 2005 graduation from Thomas Dale.

“I was excited for her,” Thomas recalled during an interview last week. “She knew early on what she wanted to do. She was going to do it, come hell or high water.”

Black’s second digital EP, “Get Mad,” which was released on May 11, has been featured on the front page of the country music section on iTunes. Its first single, “That Should’ve Been Us,” also ranked in the Top 10 of iTunes country downloads, making Black the only unsigned artist on that list.

When Thomas recently heard “That Should’ve Been Us” on her car radio, she pulled into a parking lot and jumped out of the car, yelling “That’s my daughter’s song!”

“People were looking at me like I was crazy,” Thomas said. “It’s an indescribable feeling. I’ve listened to her stuff for a long time and it never gets old.”

Black has spent most of the summer touring to promote the EP. She’s done several shows in Virginia – most recently last Friday in Farmville – and will return to her native Chesterfield later this month to perform at the county fair for the first time.

“I’m so excited, you have no idea,” she said. “It will be a lot of fun to share my new album with family and friends.”

Black fondly recalls attending the county fair as a child, including one year when her family scored front-row seats for a show by a young, unknown artist named Chris Cagle.

Cagle now has a major recording contract, a pair of Top-10 hit singles and two gold albums. In other words, he’s exactly where Black wants to be.

“Nashville is a waiting game,” she said. “Once [record company executives] see you out and working hard, they’ll eventually come around. But I’ve had to learn the value of patience.”

Black, who said friends in Nashville call her the hardest-working woman in country music because she’s willing to play shows anywhere at any time, believes she was born to perform. She grew up singing with a variety of choirs at Chester Presbyterian Church, and it didn’t take long before people realized she was gifted.

“She’s loaded with talent and she’s also a really nice kid,” said Aubrey Lindsey, the longtime music director at Chester Presbyterian and a former principal at Thomas Dale. “I’ve seen kids who get to a certain level, whether in athletics or the arts, and they get full of themselves. Brinn has always been very humble about what she’s doing.”

Black is keeping some heady company these days.

She’s opened for well-known country acts, including the Zac Brown Band, Montgomery Gentry, Gretchen Wilson and Lonestar. She also recorded her latest EP at a studio owned by legend Reba McEntire, using members of McEntire’s studio band.

One afternoon last spring, she walked out of the booth where she’d been recording and saw country star Trace Adkins at a table, eating his lunch like some regular Joe on the day shift.

Those experiences paled in comparison to what she called “the highlight of my life.”

In April, she met McEntire for the first time at a Las Vegas party hosted by Miranda Lambert following the Academy of Country Music Awards.

Despite being nervous, Black didn’t reveal to her idol that she frequently sleeps in a yellow T-shirt with McEntire’s face on the front. “After I met her, I was, like, … I just talked to Reba!’” Black recalled with a laugh. “I started tearing up and my boyfriend said, ‘You’re acting a little crazy … but I’m happy for you.’”

Life as an up-and-coming musician isn’t always so glamorous.

While she’s talked with big Nashville labels, Black hasn’t landed a lucrative recording deal. And while stars like McEntire tour in state-of-the-art customized buses or RVs, Black and her band travel in a no-frills van with an equipment trailer hitched to the back.

Her mother acknowledged that members of her own extended family have suggested that Black develop a backup career plan.

“She’s a smart businesswoman and she’s developed a lot of contacts,” Thomas said. “It’s not a matter of if she’s going to make it, but when.”

Seven years after she arrived in Nashville, Black is as committed as ever to making it as a country recording artist – even if that means playing for low pay at small venues while waiting for her break.

“This is what I feel I’m meant to do,” Black said during a phone interview as she and her band rolled into North Carolina’s Outer Banks for a show last Thursday. “I have a passion for performing and I’m not going to give it up. I feel like it’s eventually going to work out.” - Chesterfield Observer

Brinn Black, November 13, 2008
By A. Tuck (Atlanta, GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Places She's Never Been (MP3 Download)
Brinn Black is an amazing new voice in country music. She sings with the vitality of many before her. This debut EP would be a great adddition to the country music fan's collection of up and comers to watch. Brinn performs in Nashville, TN several times a month and seeing the show live is even better than the CD. Either way, anyone who loves country music should pick up thid CD in download or physical format.
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Great Debut Album from a Great New Country Artist, November 11, 2008
By Adonay "REGIO" - See all my reviews
Well, I'll start off by saying that this is a great debut album by a great new country artist. All of her songs have great melodies and the lyrics are really good. My favorite song from this album is "Sweet Virginia Sunset" because she really expresses herself with that song since she's from Virginia. I hope she gets noticed by country radio soon, because she's a very talented artist, and I think she writes, or co-writes, all of her songs. I've had the priviledge to see her live here in Nashville, and I must say she really knows how to put on a good show. I hope she releases another album soon, but for the meantime I'll listen to this great album all the time, and also check out her myspace for new music (myspace.com/brinnblack)
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- amazon.com

COUNTRY GIRL GOES INTERNATIONAL

written by Rick Amburgey

Brinn Black is excited about her opportunity to play a MIDEM in January. MIDEM, which will take place in Cannes, France, is considered the largest international music business conference in the world. Black said representatives from international labels, distributors and publishers will be present at the conference and will see her showcase.

“The cool thing is that there are no country music artists who are going, so there is a huge window of opportunity for me,” she said.

Black is currently working on a new song EP that she will take to MIDEM, as well as release in the United States. She said she plans to start recording the new EP as soon as they can nail down a producer.

She is already having some success with her song, “Sweet Virginia Sunset.” The song is currently being played by about 75 radio stations, including Jack FM in Nashville. Black said she wrote the tune in about 30 minutes after watching “The Wizard of Oz” outside in Pinkerton Park in Franklin, TN in August of 2007. “I went into the studio to record my first EP a month later and that became everyone’s favorite.”

Black said she was surprised that she received so much airplay because it was the first thing she had ever put out, but added she is really thankful. Black is also very thankful for the support she’s received from Jack FM since she moved to Nashville. She said the station has connected her with so many amazing people over the years. “I have also performed at a lot of their events and been able to sing a lot of commercials and song spoofs for them.”

ITunes and CD Baby have also helped Black get her music to the people and build her fan base. “On CD Baby, you can see who buys your CD so you can have a direct connection with your fans,” she said.

By listening to her country songs, most people would never guess that she was trained to sing opera. Black admits that making the switch to country was a big adjustment, but she grew up listening to everything from George Jones to Celine Dion and having a huge love for commercial music.


With her mom being a choir teacher, she said she grew up listening to a little bit of everything from Broadway songs to the Indigo Girls to country artists like Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina and Sara Evans. “I started taking voice in the 9th grade and became a voice major at MTSU,” recalled Black. However, she said she realized classical music wasn’t her passion and she wanted to focus on country music. “Country music really helped me cope with a lot through life and I want to be able to do that for other people.”

Black does quite a bit of charity work as well. She said she blogs on the charity web site,www.theonelove.org. “Every time my blog gets a hit, money goes to my charity of choice, the American Cancer Society,” she said. She also does a lot of work with the Susan G. Komen foundation, The March of Dimes and Autism Speaks.

“Every time I go play out of town, I try to play for cancer patients at a local hospital,” said Black.

Both of Black’s grandparents on her dad’s side died suddenly from cancer in 2007 and her music mentor from church also died of lung cancer that year. Now, one of her best friends has leukemia. “I am trying to give back as much as I can and raise money to stop this nasty disease,” Black said - Strum Magazine

COUNTRY GIRL GOES INTERNATIONAL

written by Rick Amburgey

Brinn Black is excited about her opportunity to play a MIDEM in January. MIDEM, which will take place in Cannes, France, is considered the largest international music business conference in the world. Black said representatives from international labels, distributors and publishers will be present at the conference and will see her showcase.

“The cool thing is that there are no country music artists who are going, so there is a huge window of opportunity for me,” she said.

Black is currently working on a new song EP that she will take to MIDEM, as well as release in the United States. She said she plans to start recording the new EP as soon as they can nail down a producer.

She is already having some success with her song, “Sweet Virginia Sunset.” The song is currently being played by about 75 radio stations, including Jack FM in Nashville. Black said she wrote the tune in about 30 minutes after watching “The Wizard of Oz” outside in Pinkerton Park in Franklin, TN in August of 2007. “I went into the studio to record my first EP a month later and that became everyone’s favorite.”

Black said she was surprised that she received so much airplay because it was the first thing she had ever put out, but added she is really thankful. Black is also very thankful for the support she’s received from Jack FM since she moved to Nashville. She said the station has connected her with so many amazing people over the years. “I have also performed at a lot of their events and been able to sing a lot of commercials and song spoofs for them.”

ITunes and CD Baby have also helped Black get her music to the people and build her fan base. “On CD Baby, you can see who buys your CD so you can have a direct connection with your fans,” she said.

By listening to her country songs, most people would never guess that she was trained to sing opera. Black admits that making the switch to country was a big adjustment, but she grew up listening to everything from George Jones to Celine Dion and having a huge love for commercial music.


With her mom being a choir teacher, she said she grew up listening to a little bit of everything from Broadway songs to the Indigo Girls to country artists like Tim McGraw, Jo Dee Messina and Sara Evans. “I started taking voice in the 9th grade and became a voice major at MTSU,” recalled Black. However, she said she realized classical music wasn’t her passion and she wanted to focus on country music. “Country music really helped me cope with a lot through life and I want to be able to do that for other people.”

Black does quite a bit of charity work as well. She said she blogs on the charity web site,www.theonelove.org. “Every time my blog gets a hit, money goes to my charity of choice, the American Cancer Society,” she said. She also does a lot of work with the Susan G. Komen foundation, The March of Dimes and Autism Speaks.

“Every time I go play out of town, I try to play for cancer patients at a local hospital,” said Black.

Both of Black’s grandparents on her dad’s side died suddenly from cancer in 2007 and her music mentor from church also died of lung cancer that year. Now, one of her best friends has leukemia. “I am trying to give back as much as I can and raise money to stop this nasty disease,” Black said - Strum Magazine

Event Name: In The Round with Scott Jarman, Brinn Black, Rhett McDaniel and Mary Hartman
"AWESOME!"
Review posted by: Music Lover from Nashville TN, Sep 09, 2009

I have been to the Bluebird several times and this was by far one of the best shows I have ever seen there! Brinn Black is definitely one to watch out for! Move over Taylor Swift!

- Music Lover From Nashville

Chester, Virginia doesn’t have a reputation for producing country music stars. Singer/songwriter Brinn Black is about to change that.

I saw Brinn perform for the first time during the 2010 Country Radio Seminar at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Nashville. For those of you who have never had the pleasure of attending CRS, there are private shows held in the hotel rooms throughout the night. I stood elbow to elbow with a small crowd in a room overlooking Nashville. She sat on a stool and confidently sang with a smile, backed only by an acoustic guitarist and drummer who, for the night, traded his throne for a cajone. It was immediately clear that I was in the presence of something unique. As I turned to inspect the crowd, the mutual look of pleasant surprise on every face confirmed my gut feeling. Evidently we all became a bit too lost in the music…and our loudness. Midway through Brinn’s third song, several Nashville Metro Police officers had to ruin the party.

A few weeks ago, I had the great pleasure of spending an afternoon with Brinn on a stroll through Nashville. Once again, I was pleasantly surprised. Brinn has toured nationally and has even made her mark in many parts of Europe. The surprise was that her accomplishments have left her small town charm absolutely unchanged. Commuters slowed to get a second look as we made our way past the traffic circle en route to Music Row while arguing the intricacies of college football. In the end, we agreed to disagree – her with the chomp of orange and blue, and I with the roll of the crimson tide.


“I’ve been a singer my whole life,” she remarked. Born to a classically-trained opera singer, it’s easy to see where the talent comes from. Her sound is a little bit country, a little bit pop. “It’s like Sugarland meets Kelly Clarkson,” says Black. At 16, Brinn earned the opportunity to sing at the 75th annual D-Day celebration in Normandy, France. “That opened my eyes and I fell in love with performing,” she remarks of the experience. A little more than two years later, Brinn found herself making the 13+ hour move from Chester, VA to Murfreesboro, TN where she enrolled at Middle Tennessee State University to study Classical Voice.
After performing in a few operas and other MTSU productions, Black made what she considers “the best decision…since coming to town.” After studying classical voice for more than four years, Brinn changed her major to the newly created “songwriting” concentration in the Recording Industry department at MTSU. Through her newfound major, Brinn was mentored by many of the top songwriters in the music business and earned an internship with Bug Music here in Nashville where she was given a songwriting room session every week to book co-writes and hone her craft. When asked about her experience, Brinn says: “The entire music community in Nashville has been nothing but supportive throughout these past four years. I have been completely blessed.”

With so many new opportunities, Brinn decided the timing was right to make the move to Nashville.

Though the grass looked greener in Music City, Brinn quickly learned that success doesn’t come without sacrifice. “When I first moved to Nashville, I was completely overwhelmed,” she explained. “I played the hall of fame lounge, Douglas Corner, The Commodore… anywhere I could, five nights a week, sometimes to only one or two people.” She confesses, “I didn’t really know what I was doing. It was completely overwhelming because I never said ‘no’ to anything. There were times that my body would just physically shut down because of everything that I was trying to keep up with.”

Relief would come as unexpectedly as the opportunities keeping her overwhelmed.

Through what they both may argue was by divine appointment, Brinn met her manager, Art Wassem, at church. She explains: “We would meet every few months and he always gave me awesome ideas on my career and what I was doing with it. Him becoming my manager (last July) was a God-send…things still get overwhelming, but now we have a plan for it,” she says with a laugh. “Every day after I get in from the gym, we sit down and make a list and check things off as we finish. One thing (Art) has taught me is that successful people make lists,” comments Black. Apparently, Wassem is on to something. Though her music is no stranger to radio, Brinn’s single “Not That Girl” has recently earned substantial airtime here in Nashville. When asked about her support staff, Black says, “I feel incredibly blessed to have them in my life.”

Newly equipped with a support team, opportunity came knocking once again from MTSU. Brinn was approached by a group of students who were interested in using her career as a case study in the international marketing of a rising country music star. Noticing the potential, Black welcomed the opportunity and as a result, traveled to Cannes, France to attend the international music conference, MIDEM (short for Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale). Being the only country artist in attendance, Brinn wowed the attendees and returned to the states with more than ten equipment and apparel endorsements including ProDance Footwear, and Gator cases. “It was a great way to start of 2010!,” she said with a smile.

The success continues to roll in for Black. Most recently, she has begun to attract the attention of several well-established record labels. When asked about the recent successes, she says: “I keep pinching myself…there’s no way this is really happening to me!” Dream Row will be home to her upcoming video blog – bringing you live updates on her career and some of her personal life. Brinn is playing select dates in and around the southeast before heading out on her summer tour. Until then, she is the Wednesday-night performer at Cadillac Ranch in Nashville.

Take advantage off the opportunity to see her while it’s easy to do so. I have a feeling that those days are numbered.

Be sure to check out brinnblack.com and myspace.com/brinnblack. Her album,“Places She’s Never Been” is available on iTunes and CD Baby. - Dream Row Magazine

Up and coming country singer
to give free concert at Pickett
Brinn Black show
12 Noon at theater
A country singer who grew up
in Chester will give a free concert
tomorrow, Friday, April 23rd at 12
Noon at the Fort Pickett theater.
Brinn Black, 22, is currently getting
air play on K95 Country and
93.5 FM Bobcat Country with her
new single, “Not That Girl.”
Brinn lived in Chester from 3rd
grade until she graduated high
school. She grew up singing in
church and the high school choir.
In addition to the Pickett concert,
she’s performing Saturday, April
24th at Richard Bland College.
For more information about
tomorrow’s show at Pickett, call
804-216-2158. For more about Brinn
Black, visit: www.brinnblack.com
Don’t forget to call K95 and 93.5
FM and request Brinn Black’s new
single “Not That Girl.” - Richmond Times Dispatch

Featured on the cover of Multi-Platnum Pro Tools DVD released September 2007.
http://multiplatinumprotools.com/ - Multi-Platnum University

A breath of fresh air in the world of country music. Her passionate vocals blend beautifully with the well-crafted country/pop tunes on the album. - Cd Baby

MTSU Students in France for Music Conference
January 21, 2010
MTSU News & Public Affairs Release…
With technology changing faster than this week’s top-10 downloads, MTSU recording-industry students are heading to France this week to expand their knowledge and their networking opportunities at MIDEM 2010, the world’s largest music-industry trade fair.
Accompanied by professor Ramona DeSalvo, the 10 travelers—nine undergrads and one graduate student—will leave Thursday to arrive in Cannes for the five-day international event, which begins Jan. 23 and is expected to draw more than 8,000 music-industry attendees from more than 80 countries.
“Everybody who’s anybody in music will be there to discuss trends in music, political and legal issues,” explains DeSalvo, an entertainment law and copyright litigation attorney who teaches courses in copyright law and contracts and legal issues, along with a seminar class, “How To Get A Job In the Entertainment Industry,” in MTSU’s College of Mass Communication.
“We’re taking these students because we want the university to be in the forefront of those trends. We don’t want to be teaching old business models. Plus, letting MTSU have a presence at MIDEM will … get attention for the department and give our students exposure to the global music business.”
This is the first time MTSU will be represented at the 43rd annual event (MIDEM is the acronym for Marché International du Disque et de l’Edition Musicale), and it’s one of only a handful of universities worldwide to attend.
“Our students received grants for research projects from the International Education and Exchange Committee, which are helping them to attend, and they’ll present their research during Scholars Week (March 22-26),” DeSalvo said. The students also will present a panel discussion to share information from MIDEM when they return to campus.
In addition to lectures, seminars and plenty of opportunities to network with industry bigwigs, the students will be rushing to huge nightly concerts and intimate music showcases, talking tours and merchandising, and even watching a classmate’s opportunity to gain international attention for her music.
Scheduled to attend are master of fine arts candidate Eboni Green, junior production and technology major John Carroll, junior music business major Kyle McCormick and senior music business majors Tiffany Adams, Brinn Black, Ashley Brunes, Gabriel Dodd, Dustin Poole, Dera Shelton and Claudia Whitehorn.
Black, whose focus is commercial songwriting and who is also a recording artist with Foothill Entertainment, also is scheduled for a showcase performance as the only country artist invited to MIDEM this year.
The MIDEM event also includes MidemNet, a conference encompassed within the broader event that will present panels and conferences on monetizing the digital music marketplace. It also will provide an opportunity to market and brand MTSU as the preeminent recording industry program in the world and could lead to international recruiting opportunities, officials said.
“We want to make connections now to prepare for next year, when we want to have a booth for the MTSU recording industry program,” said DeSalvo. “It’s all part of preparing for the university’s internationalization initiative.”
For more information about MIDEM, visit the event’s Web site at www.midem.com. For more information about MTSU’s Department of Recording Industry, one of the largest and best equipped in the country, visit http://recordingindustry.mtsu.edu. - WGNS Radio

Brinn Black CRS Controversy
Posted Friday, February 26, 2010
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Brinn Black ‘s new artist showcase was interrupted Thursday night at the Radisson Hotel by security and police, due to many dozens of people filling the room and the hallway creating what the Hotel thought might have been a fire hazard.

Black’s manager was forced to ask everybody to leave the room causing great disappointment in the many people who came to hear Black perform.

Black then negotiated with management to continue her showcase on the second floor where the crowd swelled in size while Black put on an energetic and exciting performance. This performance drew the attention of many industry executives and radio professionals.

Thursday was also the launch of her newly updated website http://www.brinnblack.com. - Rodeo Attitude News