GOLD HILL/ROLLINSVILLE -- Brendan Forrest considers the folk tradition as his primary music pursuit. He focuses on bluegrass and Americana-adjacent styles, including singer-songwriter and flatpicking as a solo artist and roots with a full backing band.
Forrest has been playing traditional music from a young age. He started playing the highland bagpipes at ten years old, falling in love with Celtic music through his Irish-American heritage. At the age of sixteen, he started teaching himself guitar after delving into the folk and rock worlds for the first time.
By the time he got into college, even though he had played music on his own for years, he didn’t feel confident in his abilities. However, while in college, a jazz drummer complimented Forrest’s abilities and encouraged him to explore and expand them more. In response, Forrest switched to a music major, started exploring jazz and bluegrass, and never turned back.
After graduating college, Forrest decided to pursue a musical career, even discovering his grandmother was an opera singer. From hip-hop to electronica to jazz and classical, he’s explored whatever he can, initially releasing projects under an abbreviated name, B Forrest (those releases, including his 2015 album Back to Bodhi, are still available).
In his late teens and early 20s, living in Chicago, he played blues on electric guitar in Buddy Guy’s Legends. In his twenties, he traveled the world, busking in Paris, playing with African musicians, and teaching music in underserved public schools in rural Colorado.
Now, releasing music under his full name, he has fully settled into the Americana tradition. His debut record, Daydreaming Music Fiend, is a dream come true for him. Half instrumental and half vocal, he considers it his dissertation on his musical background and inspirations.
The album was recorded live over two days. No overdubs or click tracks were utilized, with the final product demonstrating a complete focus on the music. Musicians featured on the record include Grammy-winning mandolin player Dominick Leslie, International Bluegrass Music Association winners George Jackson on guitar and Jake Stargel on fiddle, acclaimed upright bass player Andrew Vogt, and acclaimed fiddle player Patrik Ahlberg.
Forrest is incredibly proud of where his musical journey has taken him over the years. While he is still proud of his body of work under B Forrest, he feels that his new musical journey under his full name allows him to focus on one particular style more. He has always loved the simplicity of playing a song with just strings and steel (or wood) and loves that he gets to embrace that direction now.
Forrest has always appreciated what he considers the “little victories” in releasing his music – getting compliments from his audience, hearing live crowds sing his songs back, and seeing how his music takes a life of its own. Ultimately, he hopes his music inspires his audiences to embrace who they are and find their voice.
Brendan Forrest will be playing two shows in the Peak to Peak area very soon. First, he’ll play at the Gold Hill General Store, 531 Main Street in Gold Hill, on Saturday, February 15, 2025, starting at 7 p.m. Then, the next day, on Sunday, February 16, starting at 3 p.m., he’ll be playing at Howlin Wind Brewing and Blending, 51 A Main Street in Rollinsville. For more information about Forrest’s musical career, be sure to head to his website at brendanforrest.com.
