Chastity Brown

It seems like only yesterday but it was 2011 when Nikky Finney was accepting her National Book Award for her book “Head Off & Slit”. In her speech she said something that got to my core. She said, “One of the things I always thought about when I was very, very young and dreaming of being a poet was, 'Is it possible to write something absolutely beautiful about something absolutely heartbreaking or absolutely difficult or painful?'"

In that regard, This song feels to me one of my many attempts to say the difficult things beautifully. I began writing the tune a few weeks back before George Floyd’s life was taken. So the wind was about, so to speak. Amid this Uprising with smoke looming in the air over this whole city miles away my sweet and talented nephew was on his way home in Harlem and was beat up by the police.

My breaking point, my boiling over.

I am so thrilled and beyond honored to be premiering some of my new work at Orchestra Hall! While I have had this time off from the road I have been writing like a wild woman and practicing a self care routine. Because I’m no longer tending to my pain the way I used to...it has freed up my writing to reflect more of life’s experiences. It’s like the width and breadth has expanded. I had know idea that caring for myself more deeply would have this effect. And now, instead of being afraid of change I’m just leaning into my curiosities. F’ing so cool. 

Happy New Year! 2019 is off to a great start with some amazing shows coming up this month.

Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration
Monday, January 21st | Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Recreation Center - Minneapolis, MN
TICKETS: https://bit.ly/1Q2Jgn2

Who Knew… Presents What It Means - A Panel Discussion
Wednesday, January 23rd | City Winery - Nashville, TN
TICKETS: https://citywinery.com/nashville/whoknew012319.html

Rock What You Got! Presented by Twin Cities Women’s Expo
Friday, January 25th | Earle Brown Heritage Center - Minneapolis, MN
TICKETS: https://bit.ly/2D31h49

If you haven’t already heard, check out my new single “Mad Love” here! https://lnk.to/madlove1WE

It was a chance encounter with a white supremacist that was the impetus for Chastity Brown's new single, "Mad Love." The bi-racial artist was confronted outside a club in Eau Claire, WI having a quick smoke before taking the stage where she was accosted, cussed out and verbally attacked by a person who'd read her interview in the local paper. Her guitarist came out and to find Brown standing up for herself and holding her own. Shaking with adrenaline, fear and anger, Brown went and did the show and shared the story with the audience. She realized the best possible response to racism and hate is love -- including radical self love where, no matter how others choose to see you, you accept yourself. 

"At that time of writing the album, I had already devoured every novel of James Baldwin's, and moved into his essays. What I love about James Baldwin is that he's so plain spoken, and so profound. He had such grace, and was so gay, and was so academic. He was so himself. He just seemed to embody who the fuck he was. He's influenced my work so much, that type of honesty and vulnerability. Something about that is really brave to me, and something about that is really sexy." Read Chastity's interview with Out Magazine!

"'Silhouette of Sirens' is a work of brooding soul by a voice we need right now."

Chastity's album Silhouette of Sirens is now streaming on NPR Music's First Listen! The glowing review that accompanies the stream sums up this powerful album from one of the top emerging voices in music. Officially available on Red House on May 19th, the 10 songs on the album blend folk, pop and country and treads the line between the personal and the political. Featuring songs like the chart-topping "Wake Up" and "Drive Slow" about taking the time to enjoy the moment, Silhouette of Sirens is a landmark debut. 

"Chastity Brown’s forthcoming Silhouette of Sirens is one of the most anticipated roots albums of the first half of 2017. It’s a collection that showcases Brown’s dexterous musicianship, thoughtful songwriting and careful attention to detail, all of which have earned her praise from outlets like NPR and CMT on past releases.

Those qualities are on full display on “Drive Slow,” a sweeping new track from Silhouette of Sirens that considers what it means to slow down and appreciate the moment."