Bandshell concert series goes country with singer-songwriter Timmy Brown

Jul. 17—Country singer, songwriter and recording artist Timmy Brown will appear with a band of top-notch Nashville musicians for the third Berks Arts Bandshell Concert of the season in City Park on Friday.

The Massachusetts native, voted New England Country Music's Local Male Artist of the Year for the fourth time in 2019, moved to Nashville four years ago. There he released his 2021 album, "Good Life," with 10 original songs, one of which, "Play It by Beer," has been released as a single with a new music video.

Another song from the album, "If You Were Here," is dedicated to his late grandmother, whom he credits with nurturing his musical skill from an early age and encouraging him in pursuing a musical career.

"My mother's mother, my Nana, played the piano," Brown said, "and ever since I was born, I remember sitting with her at the piano, and when I was 4 or 5, she taught me things."

In fact, music ran in his family: his great-grandfather built violins, his father played the trumpet and other relatives were in a band.

While he was classically trained in piano and voice, Brown also grew up listening to many genres of music, especially country music by artists like Randy Travis and Garth Brooks. Other influences are Brad Paisley, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean. He fell in love with Nashville on a family trip, where he heard live music all around, he said.

During his teen years, music was his hobby, but by his sophomore year in high school, he learned that music could be a career for him. He started singing the national anthem at local events, joined the school chorus and began college with a music education major, while he performed at clubs during the weekends, using recorded backtracks.

"But when my Nana died, I stopped everything and decided to do whatever it took to make performing music my full-time job," he said.

He learned guitar, practicing four or five nights a week in his uncle's garage. Then, as he started playing more shows, people started to notice him and follow his performances. Soon he had a solid core of fans. He released his debut EP, "Leave This Town," to critical acclaim, in 2016. By the time he moved to Nashville, he was making a living as a performing and recording artist. When the COVID pandemic hit, the live shows stopped for a year and a half, a blow to someone in this stage of his career.

"I was lucky," he said. "I have a great fan base and great people around me. I did livestreams on Venmo and on social media twice a week. I can't thank them enough for supporting me. I was able to get by."

Now he's "crazy busy" with performing at private and outdoor events scheduled through the summer.

"It's been great seeing people enjoying themselves with the music," he said. "I've had such good moments."

Brown will be bringing his producer/band leader/multi-instrumentalist and co-writer Josh Gleave to the bandshell, along with drummer Alec Parrish and guitarist Brandon Bagby. Parrish has most recently toured with country singer-songwriter Walker Hayes ("Fancy Like"), and Bagby has been touring with Christian singer Mandisa.

The bandshell concert will begin at 7 p.m., and will be preceded by a presentation from a local musical organization beginning at 6 p.m.

Families are encouraged to bring blankets, lawn chairs and, of course, their dancing shoes to City Park to experience great music in a natural setting. Food vendors are available on-site.

Any weather-related schedule changes are posted on Facebook and announced on local radio stations. Alcohol and smoking are not permitted in City Park, and dogs must be on a leash.

For more information, visit www.berksarts.org.