Today we’d like to introduce you to Brandon Diaz.
Brandon, please kick things off for us by telling us about yourself and your journey so far.
Born in Washington DC and raised in Ashburn, VA, I had a beautiful childhood with an extremely supportive foundation, my mother, Sherri, my Father, George, and my sister, Beverly. From a young age, I showed love and an innate ability for music and singing. My father is a singer himself saw this and nurtured it, teaching me all he knew about singing, allowing and encouraging me to find my own way on my musical journey. I began gigging around locally in the Northern Virginia and D.C. area when I was 14 years old. By this time, I had taught myself piano and then not long after, taught myself how to play guitar. This allowed me to perform at local wineries, festivals, restaurants; basically anywhere that wanted live music. I began to make a name for myself in my hometown. I was by no means doing this alone, my mother would spend countless hours calling venues all over for gigs and searching the internet for audition opportunities to help further my career. Due to the endless dedication, when I was around 16 years old, I had the incredible opportunity to be on the NBC television show, “The Voice.”
After spending five weeks in LA for the show, I sadly did not make it onto one of the four teams but, as a young beginner in the music industry, this was one of the most eye-opening experiences for me. I had just cracked the surface of the beast that is the music industry and I wanted more. Throughout high school, I performed numerous times in my Theater Arts department in musicals and plays, which allowed me to become more comfortable on stage. As I looked towards making a future in music, I decided to audition for the esteemed Berklee College Of Music, where I have been studying for the past three years and working towards a degree in Songwriting. When I began at Berklee, not more than two weeks into the semester, I met and played with the musicians who would later form my band, “Brandon Diaz ‘N Soul.” We wrote and released our first EP called “Love ‘N Confusion” in 2016, which consisted of four original, soulful, old school R&B songs with a modern and youthful spin. We have played venues in the New York and Boston area including The Red Room, Rockwood Music Hall, The Middle East, and many more.
At the end of 2017, my life took a surprising turn when I was asked to audition for the show “American Idol” for its reboot season on ABC. I took a chance and went for it! I sang “Unaware” by Allen Stone and shocked the three judges Katy Perry, Lionel Richie, and Luke Bryan with my voice. I continued on to the Top 24, along the way befriending incredible individuals, and was given the chance to perform at the historical Dolby Theatre. After or leaving the show, I have been working on new music, perfecting my sound, and finishing my degree at Berklee. I have built a team full of friends I have made along my musical journey, who are helping me to further my career in the modern music world; because we all know that you cannot do it alone.
Can you give our readers some background on your art?
My music is a physical manifestation of everything I feel. My goal with the music I create is to compel listeners to feel. Whatever that feeling may be, warmth, sadness, lust, relaxed, I want them to go there, fully. A huge part of my musical identity is my live performance. When I perform, I try to create a space for my fans where the energy is undeniably filled with love, something that is completely necessary in the world we live in today. My goal is to improve people’s lives by way of music, just as so many iconic artists have done for me. Music is a universal language between humans, and I believe with great music and the right energy we can move towards a future we are proud of.
What responsibility, if any, do you think artists have to use their art to help alleviate problems faced by others? Has your art been affected by issues you’ve concerned about?
I think the biggest challenge facing artists today is the question of how to stand out among the endless sea of artists and musicians. With the rise of social media and music streaming it has become a lot easier for artists to get their art seen or their music heard. Although it has also created an influx of art, whether good or bad, that is easily accessible by the public. I believe this makes it that much harder, for some of the creative gems to be found. I have a lot of friends from school that writes and release incredible art but have a hard time breaking out into the mass market and being experienced by a wider audience. I know of many artists not only in Boston but around the country and world who should be on everyone’s iPhone right now but are still struggling to be known. It feels as though we as artists need to do something extreme just to get barely a few seconds in the limelight. How do we compete to stay in the forefront in such an oversaturated society?
What’s the best way for someone to check out your work and provide support?
You can find my first EP on Bandcamp and SoundCloud under “Brandon Diaz ‘N Soul” and all future music will be released under “Brandon Diaz” on all major platforms (iTunes, Spotify, etc.). I will be releasing a brand new single shortly and you can find all the updates on the release date and shows by joining my fan base on social media! I update all of these pages with upcoming shows and music, on Instagram: @brandondiazofficial, Facebook, Twitter: @brandondmusic, and YouTube: BrandonDiazMusic. Please if you enjoy my music, give it a buy and a stream, I promise you it does not go unnoticed or unappreciated. Much Love!
Contact Info:
- Email: brandondiazmusic@gmail.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/brandondiazofficial/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Brandon-Diaz-222152411264438/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/brandondmusic?lang=en
Image Credit:
Boss Lelenapaparn, Kevin Leung
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