Karaoke to country queen: Annie Brobst is top bill at Quincy's Countryfest on the Common

Annie Brobst might be the first to admit that the story of how she got to Massachusetts from Columbus, Ohio, resembles a classic country ballad: Midwest ingenue follows college sweetheart across the country after graduation, only to have the romance fade away.

Brobst, however, forged her own happy ending, finding a rewarding career as a Spanish teacher and soccer/softball coach at a Salem charter school. Then she followed karaoke dreams into what is now a full-time career as a country singer.

Better yet, while the music world shut down during the pandemic, Brobst had one of the most productive songwriting periods of her life, and also discovered a special bond with her co-writer and lead guitarist, Ryan Dupont, who is now also her fiancé.

Music: Countryfest on the Common to return to Quincy

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Brobst and her band will be headlining Soundcheck Studios in Pembroke on Saturday, May 14, and then she is the main attraction at Sunday’s Countryfest on the Common concert in Quincy.

Brobst lives in Danvers and she already has plenty of connections south of Boston. Ubiquitous Quincy songsmith Fil Pacino is a longtime friend and mentor, Whitman’s Munk Duane is another trusted adviser, and all of her recorded work has been done at Sean McLaughlin’s 37’ Productions in Rockland.

Karaoke to country star

Once Brobst got the performing bug, and karaoke nights turned into gigs with a country cover band, her music gained momentum. Before long she was writing her own tunes, and when the late nights of playing music and the early mornings of teaching school got to be too much, she made the leap to full-time musician.

By 2016, Brobst was releasing her debut EP, “Ghost,” with the title cut an autobiographical tale of her Ohio-to-Massachusetts emotional journey. That EP was a big factor in Brobst’s winning the 2016 New England Music Award as country female artist of the year, a title she has held every year since.

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When Brobst’s album “My First Rodeo” came out in 2019, she was a known commodity in New England country music circles and was getting opening gigs for stars including Darius Rucker, Wynonna, Miranda Lambert and the Marshall Tucker Band. Brobst’s latest album, “When We Holler,” was released in March 2021, and reached the No. 2 spot on the iTunes Country Albums charts. Not coincidentally, Brobst and her band swept a bunch of 2021 New England Music Awards, earning country act of the year, song of the year and overall act of the year.

“It’s funny, but my parents were not too much into country music back in Columbus,” Brobst noted with a laugh when we talked by phone. “I was certainly into pop, rock and hip-hop growing up, a lot of Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera. But as I got older, I changed a bit and began appreciating country artists like Shania Twain, Martina McBride and all those 1990s stars. My love of country music continued to grow and I realized that my voice really fits in that genre.”

Right after graduation from Kenyon College, when Brobst followed her beau to the Bay State, she wasn’t looking at a music career. At that point, she was still just a fan.

“I got the full-time teaching job and so I stayed on,” Brobst said. “I wasn’t pursuing music at all, and when I did karaoke, I would do country, but also stuff like Stevie Nicks. Eventually I created a cover band with some other people from karaoke and then that became a bigger cover band and we did pop, rock and country. But there is a small community of country musicians around here and when I began playing with (guitarist) Rodger Hagopian, he encouraged me to write my own material. 'Ghost' tells the story of my move, which didn’t work out, but at least led to a good country song.”

Strong South Shore ties

Brobst’s South Shore connections came about because, as a lifelong music fan, she’d spend many off nights going out to hear other performers.

“When I’m writing, I like to get out and see other musicians,” she said. “I had seen Fil Pacino, who I think is an awesome entertainer, and one night he got me to hear Munk Duane. They are both great guys and had some good advice for me. Fil has become a mentor of sorts, while Sean McLaughlin was playing with Munk when we met. I really trusted Munk and Fil’s talent level, so if they said Sean was good in the studio, that was good enough for me."

Brobst has done all her recording at 37' Productions.

"Sean has become a big part of the composing process for us. He demands more from my vocals, more emotion. His place has mood lighting, feels like home, and we have a really good relationship," she said. "We might do 10 different vocal takes on a tune, but he knows how to get the best out of me and we’ve gotten pretty efficient at doing that.”

Productive amid pandemic

The pandemic lockdowns turned into a productive time for Brobst. Not only was she writing lots of new music with Dupont, but she began doing streaming shows – first a series where she sang from a different room in her house each time, then venturing outdoors when the weather warmed up. Mike’s Hard Lemonade sponsored a series of virtual concerts from a local club.

“We had a tune on the latest album, ‘Make Lemonade,’ about how to make the best of bad situations, so it was a natural,” Brobst said. “Ryan’s sister owns a café up here on the North Shore, so we were able to do the shows after hours there, mixed into their soundboard for very high-quality sound. We’ve recorded five episodes of that so far.”

Brobst’s songwriting is focused on the lyrics and her co-writers provide the melodies. Her songwriting models have been folks like Miranda Lambert, Ashely McBryde, Stevie Nicks and lately Jason Isbell. As that range indicates, her own music is often as much rock and pop as it is country, but she loves the storytelling aspect of it all.

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“Writing has gotten easier, but I have yet to write my best,” Brobst said. “I always think my newest stuff is better than my last batch of songs. It’s almost always a co-write. I come up with the concept or maybe a title and we sit down and work it out together. I think there is a level to reach and I set the bar high and keep trying to outdo myself. The songs are not all autobiographical but they are certainly all my take on things. For example, 'Where They Live Now' is about appreciating those special moments you get with your loved ones, which you might not realize are important at the time.”

Brobst’s band for both these weekend gigs will include Dupont and Hagopian on guitars, Phil Sica on drums, Luke Conlin (a Salem State professor by day) on bass and Cindy Guido, who fronts her own band out of Topsfield, on backing and harmony vocals.

Brobst has a busy schedule ahead, with some additional south-of-Boston shows, including July 21 at Bridgewater’s Music Alley and July 29 at The Music Room in West Yarmouth.

Pembroke gig

When: 8 p.m. May 14

Where: Soundcheck Studios, 150 Corporate Park Drive, Pembroke

Tickets: $20 in advance and $25 at the door

Info: eventbrite.com; 781-499-5383

Note: Brockton's Jake Ash Band opens

Countryfest on the Common

When: 2 to 6 p.m. May 15

Where: Hancock-Adams Common, 1305 Hancock St., Quincy

Tickets: Free

Lineup: 2 p.m. Daniel Miller; 3 p.m. AK Cody; 4 p.m. Houston Bernand; 5 p.m. Annie Brobst

Note: Rain date is May 22

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This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: Boston's Country Queen Annie Brobst top bill at Countryfest in Quincy