Songwriter Bray Dickerson is based in Asheville. While creating his first full length album, Electric Mountain, he performed 95 percent of the instrumentation on his own, building full arrangements to create effect of a full band. His blend of pop-alternative and retro-soul looks to the past while still striving for something new.
On Sunday, June 11, Dickerson will launch his album at Catawba Brewing. The event is actual a double bill with Johnson City, Tenn.-based singer-songwriter Hunter Grigg, who has also just completed a new record.
Grigg’s music harkens back to the sounds of traditional Americana and old-time. Over the past year, he has been performing throughout Southern Appalachia. He has shared stages with several artists, including Dangermuffin, Andrew Scotchie, Joe Lasher Jr., Bombadil and The Honeycutters. His second EP, Something Like an Altar, will be available at the release party.
“There’s a lot of different musical influences I touch on in these songs —early blues and soul, folk and country, swing and a little rock ‘n’ roll,” says Dickerson. “All that great music from the past affects everything that follows.” He has also recently finished his first music video for the song “Tell Me What You Want.” It showcases Asheville’s colorful street scenes and beautiful vistas.
Dickerson’s Electric Mountain LP was recorded by local musician Dan Lewis, who says he is excited to be introducing Dickerson and Grigg to the Asheville music scene. “They are both very talented young songwriters with songs and skills beyond their years,” says Lewis. “Hunter Grigg is a rising young Americana songwriter with an old mountain sound, and Bray Dickerson may be one of Western North Carolina’s best kept musical secrets, until now.”
He continues, “Music is about communication — a beat, a groove, a feeling, a time, a place, an emotion released, and that’s how Bray communicates. Come feel it for yourself.”
WHAT: Album release party
WHERE: Catawba Brewing Co., 32 Banks Ave., catawbabrewing.com
WHEN: Sunday, June 11, 3-6 p.m.
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