Why Rising Folk Singer Brenn! Is One To Watch

The first word that comes to mind when you think of rising pop-folk singer Brenn! is chilled. Talking to me from his London hotel room, this is the Alabama native’s first trip overseas. Unlike most, however, who have an exhaustive itinerary for when they arrive in the British capital, Brenn! is just taking it as it comes.

“Jet lag got to me. I did have a Coke before bed, though, last night. But I went to a store and got a Carhartt wallet. It’s kind of funny - people stand really close to you here in the city. The driving is so different, too. I feel like I’m going to get hit even when I look.” As for any grand plans to go visit Big Ben or Buckingham Palace, Brenn! simply yawns.

This attitude of taking things as they come has clearly worked for Brenn! (Brennan Keller), who really had not anticipated this career path at all. To his great surprise, it all began a few years ago when he started making music in his room.

Influenced by artists like Keshi and mxmtoon, Brenn! initially anticipated making bedroom pop. However, it all took a slight turn to folk when he met his manager online after they heard an early version of 4runner.

“He DM’d me and said he wanted to do a session with me in Nashville. He then set me up a session with a producer who had worked with Noah Kahan. [It was] a very solid room. All I listened to at the time was Noah Kahan. I didn’t have the knowledge or the gear to make 4runner something good from my room. So, I thought this was a good opportunity.”

After floating the idea of going to Nashville with his parents, Brenn! was met with sore rejection. In fact, his parents never even thought he was going to pursue music. With lingering ambitions to be an elementary school teacher, the request came slightly out of the blue.

“It took a lot of convincing. But, like, fair enough. I said to my parents, ‘This stranger invited me to Nashville to go to this dude’s basement to make a song. They immediately said no.” Unperturbed by this experience, Brenn! decided to go anyway.

“It was the first time I had ever driven out of state. It was the first time I had ever even been out of state alone before, actually.”

While the experience was daunting, it paid off. Brenn! left that session with a refined version of 4runner, a song that is not even about a 4Runner.

“It’s about one of my friends that moved to Utah. She was my best friend, but there were no romantic feelings. She left, her and her family, who I was close to. It’s about her leaving and me having to live there by myself. I didn’t really have many friends. But then I figured out six months later that the car I was singing about was actually a Honda Pilot.”

4runner was released in April 2023. Upon its release, the song became a hit. It surpassed 30 million streams in the first three months and has since accumulated 400 million views across TikTok. As for how he managed to do it, Brenn! is still scratching his head.

“Dude, let me tell you. I used to get boba [bubble tea] every day after work. Then, one day I sat my phone down in my driveway, had the song playing and did a backflip. I would just jump. Then it got like 20,000 views. Then I did it again, and it got 50,000 views. Then, after I did the bridge in Nashville, it just went insane. Funnily enough, it actually got the most traction when I broke both my ankles. I was out for three months, had to get surgery and had to learn to walk again. That got 2-3 million views.”

After this point, Brenn!’s life began to blow up in strange, noticeable ways. People started to recognise him on the streets and discuss his music with him. He started having to do interviews. He also changed his stage name to include an exclamation mark, a tribute to his bedroom pop inspiration. He also had to start doing live shows, something he had never tried before.

“My first show was in my hometown for 100 people. It could have gone better, but it was okay. Then, nine shows later, I’m playing Hangout Festival and Lollapalooza performing to like 1000 people.”

Whilst the nerves have slightly cooled off since his early performances, Brenn! now finds himself concerned during most of his shows. “I’m just worried about whether I sound good or not.”

Bit by bit, though, he is learning his stagecraft. Some things, however, he took to easily, including stage banter. “My manager jokes I suck at singing, but I’m good at bantering. I just make jokes about how the song wasn’t even supposed to come out.”

With an EP on the way and his own headlining international shows, Brenn! currently seems to be the personification of bemusement. He simply does not know how he has gotten here.

Excited to soon arrive in Australia, Brenn! is looking forward to going to a country where he can actually understand the accent.

“Everyone here [in London] just makes me angry to talk to with their accent. I have no issue with the Australian accent. It sounds more normal. I immediately got off the plane here, and there was this guy getting the wheelchairs, and I could not stop laughing at him. I couldn’t tell what he was saying.”

Despite this excitement, I wouldn’t expect any grand plans from Brenn! in Australia either. Upon asking him for his Australian itinerary, he offered me this: “I’m going to wake up, chill in my hotel room, go to shops, and get some McDonald’s. Maybe I’ll go to the vending machine.”

Brenn!’s new single, ‘Water’, is available everywhere now. Brenn! will be performing at Howler in Melbourne on October 22 and at Oxford Art Factory in Sydney on October 23, presented by Untitled Group. He will also be performing at Ability Fest. Tickets can be accessed via Brenn!’s website and Ability Fest.