If you’re scrolling on the music side of TikTok, chances are you’ve come across Brendan Walter, greeting you through the phone with a smile, a guitar, and his signature “howdy”. Although he began by posting covers, he has now released many original songs including “Flipside of Free”, “Poor Man’s Anthem”, and his latest release, “Down By The River”. He’s even featured on Maggie Antone’s track, “I Don’t Wanna Hear About It”.
Brendan has made the big decision to pack up and head to Nashville to continue his music career, and Texas is certainly going to miss him. I had the privilege of catching up with him in the green room before his farewell show at the Saxon Pub, where we chatted about his plans for the future, as well as how he got his start in music.
“I picked up the guitar in like 5th grade,” he recalled. “I thought girls would think it was cool.”
Although he enjoyed playing his guitar and writing songs, Brendan’s primary focus growing up was hockey. However, music was still very prominent in his upbringing. “I got into music definitely from my mom’s side,” he said. “Her and my aunts and my grandma–they’re all just extremely gifted vocally, and they all play organ in church.” It’s no surprise that Brendan inherited the same musical ability.
It wasn’t until college that Brendan began to seriously consider making the switch to pursue music full-time. “I double majored in finance and data science so I was gonna be an analyst,” he said, “but I always wanted to do music so I moved here.”
Brendan’s journey gained momentum in 2020 when he began sharing music videos on social media. Then, during his junior year of college, he made the move to Austin, TX and dove head first into the music scene, seeking out open mics and playing on the street.
“I just kinda kept on with the social media stuff and kept trying to play shows as much as I could,” Brendan explained. “Then when it came to graduating I was like, alright this is what I want to do, and I ended up meeting some pretty cool people.”
Having built many memories at the Saxon Pub, it felt fitting to bid farewell on the same stage where it all began.
“I’ve just lived at this place,” he told me. “I think this is like my 5th show here, and like it’s such a legendary Austin spot.”
It’s clear the patrons and staff at the Saxon Pub love Brendan as much as he loves them, singing along to his original songs and requesting their favorites.
Drawing inspiration from his many music inspirations including Mumford and Sons, Tyler Childers, and classic rock icons, Brenda merges these influences well to create his own unique sound.
“I’ll just kind of pick up a chord progression and start writing from there,” Brendan shared when I asked about his songwriting process. “I’ve been doing a lot of co-writes recently which has been cool and i’ve never done that before,” he said. “Writing with other people is really nice because it pretty much eliminates writer’s block.”
It’s clear that Brendan finds inspiration and encouragement from his friends and people around him. Whether it be writing a song about defending his roommate in a bar fight or coming up with a sassy duet with his good friend Kate Stephenson, Brendan is constantly bringing in the people around him. In fact, Brendan’s farewell show was filled with performances by friends including Zack Telander, Kate Stephenson, and Robbie Mcminn, who came all the way from Ireland!
Although Brendan is leaving behind some dear friends in Austin, he anticipates reconnecting with old buddies and forging new connections in Nashville. “I’m moving in with a friend of mine named Evan Honer, and Wyatt Flores is right up the street.”
Brendan shared his first time meeting Wyatt and Evan, the same day Wyatt was moving into his new place in Nashville. “We literally just played guitar and drank til like 5 o’clock in the morning,” he recalled. “They’re all just really really genuinely nice people. It’s just a good group to be around.”
Excited for the opportunities Nashville holds, Brendan is ready to learn and put in the work to pursue his passions. “I still have so much more learning to do,” he said. “I just kind of want to immerse myself as much as I can and be around people that are killing it.”
I, for one, can’t wait to see what the future holds for Brendan Walter! Make sure to stream his music and follow his journey on social media—trust me, this guy is going places!
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