James Brand

Although North American in flavour, James Brand's lyrical song style is still firmly rooted in a British upbringing. From haunting melodies about tragic characters, to more playful tongue in cheek compositions (one of which garnered recognition from the prestigious John Lennon Song Contest), he comments on life and the human condition in the authentic tradition of the singer/songwriter. "Taxi" compared his work to Booker White with echoes of Bruce's Ghost of Tom Joad. However, whether evoking the Mississippi Delta with a resonator guitar and slide, Greenwich Village with his fingerstyle acoustic folk, or country tinged blues on the banjo, he resists the temptation to purely imitate: creating his own cohesive and unique style. There is an integrity in James music that comes not from a slick performance but from an openness in the delivery and a genuine ability to communicate real ideas to real people. Whether at concert venues, opening for performers such as Ken Hamm and T J Wheeler, at outdoor festivals or in smaller coffee house settings, James has the ability to draw the audience close - as if inviting them into the "firelight" to hear a good story.