The atmosphere was perfect, a warm fire, a hot drink and the soothing sounds of guitar accompanied by Alanna Brown’s haunting voice. Brown performed her vocal styling at the Options lounge at the Brook Street Hotel on January 29, 2025.
She is an artist of immense talent, a singer, guitarist and songwriter. Her voice is light, pure, lyrical; it has a timeless and it compares to the great Joni Mitchell.
She performed three 45-minute sets that included some of my favourite songs such as In My Life Beatles, Killing me Softly Roberta Flack and Everybody Wants to Rule the World, Tears for Fears
Originally from Toronto, she is an artist that has paid her dues. She toured Canada as a youth in indie-rock and folk groups and performed for a decade at the Banff National Park.
She received her Honours Bachelor of Music at Humber College where she studied alongside some of the world’s greatest jazz musicians.
Brown has released three albums of original music. The first included a song Tuesday’s Coming featuring a string quintet. Her second album Accelerate was produced in collaboration with Jeff Wolpert a 3-time Juno Award winner, and featured musician like Hugh Marsh, Jonathan Goldsmith and the Gryphon Trio. Her third album is a self-produced original album Said I Was Shy.
Her inspiration and ideas are self-directed.
“When I was younger, I wrote a lot, personal diaries about my life and then as I got older I wrote about friends’ situations.”
Her music has beautiful guitar melodies that demonstrate her technical skills as a guitarist. Her warm voice carries her authenticity and soulful expression.
She discovered her passion for music at a young age and started piano lessons when she was four years old. She also studied various other instruments and school musicals, music competitions
As a young child she was always singing and not talking. Her parents wondered if she would ever speak.
“I would say it was my first passion in life, my parents knew and helped guide me, giving me lots of musical lessons and support.”
Some of her favourite songs are jazz like, At Last, Etta James, and classics such as the Here Come the Sun, Beatles She has a vast repertoire that includes favorites like, I Hear the Train a Comin, Johnny Cash and Jolene, Dolly Parton.
Her favourite venues are weddings and house parties.
“I love playing wedding venues I always let the bride and groom choose the music and I learn whatever songs are the most important for their wedding day. I find it’s very intimate and personal. I perform throughout the ceremony or their first dance. I have a large repertoire of traditional wedding songs that they can pick and choose from and can learn up to five new songs.
Brown said she, “loves being able to tell the stories behind the music and it’s more of a songwriting storytelling performance” when she plays at venues where people are there specifically for the music.
Some of her wedding repertoire includes Can’t Help Falling in Love Elvis and Still the One, Shania Twain.
At the moment, she “performs locally three to five nights a week, earning a living as a musician. She is also raising her two young boys, which does not leave enough time to work on her original material, and studio recording.”
Although her original music can be heard on streaming services like Spotify, Apple Music, and iTunes, seeing her live will let you experience her melodies and soulful lyrics.
She is performing again this month on February 19, 2025, at the Options Lounge at the Brook Street Hotel, but can also be heard at venues throughout the region such as Lorenzo’s, Zolas, and The Wakefield Mill
Check out her website for upcoming events. https://www.alannajbrown.com
