Brenn Hill

The Utah born singer/songwriter creates music that not only pays homage to Western’s music’s finest traditions, but also serves as a passport to today’s Mountain West. He does just that again on his sixth album, WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO, a potent collection of songs filled with interesting characters and eagle-eyed observations on life, love and the indomitable western spirit.

"Every record represents a chapter in my artistry and I don’t try to confine the art to a specific theme," says Hill as he gazes out across a pasture watching his colt Stormy. "This one is a collection of songs that came from the last three or four years of my songwriting. If they make it past my ears, that’s the first test. If I believe in a song, if I think that it is really valid to this place and time, I’ll stand by it and carry it through."

And “carry it through” he triumphantly does; WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO showcases a gifted artist in full creative stride. Brenn’s writing is rife with cinematic imagery that connects the listener to the characters and places in his songs. Meet Me In McCall, penned for his uncle who passed away, boasts a memorable chorus that places the listener on horseback in some of the most beautiful terrain on earth. Caffeine is an up tempo romp that takes a look at modern man’s favorite energizer. "If you spend a lot of time on the road out West, you’ve got to have a little octane in your blood," says Brenn with a smile.

As always, his music reflects the values of the American West, but where some of his previous outings sometimes leaned more toward the nostalgic and offered up a young man’s idealistic views on life and love, WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO reflects a more mature take on the complexities of this world. The Ballad Of Buffalo Brogan is a compelling love story with a lyric so vivid you can see the characters as their story unfolds. Yet it’s a tale about love and loss that doesn’t have a happy ending.

The songs on the album cover a broad range of topics and emotional territory. Now 30 and a father of two young sons, Brenn never lacks for inspiration. She Loves Me Anyway is a light-hearted portrait of a relationship in which the wife’s love overcomes the husband’s shortcomings. Among the album’s highlights is the poignant Simple Things, which celebrates what matters most in life. On the more somber side, The Ballad of Pogue and Elms chronicles the killings of two law enforcement officers in a notorious incident.

WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO marks the first time Brenn has produced his own album. "I know these songs more than anybody," he says. "I hear them as I write them now and I guess that’s something that only comes from experience. I wanted to serve the function of producer myself to be true to the songs that I’ve written. I know I couldn’t have done that 10 years ago, but five or six records and having the opportunity to work with great producers who are songwriters themselves, like Ian Tyson and Eddie Schwartz, has allowed me to do that."

In addition to writing, singing and producing, Brenn is very hands on in other aspects of his career. He’s toured relentlessly over the past few years and developed a strong sense of how to connect with his audience. Such experience has bolstered his confidence and is evident throughout WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO. "I know who I’m making this music for and why I’m doing it," he says. "All of that certainly was part of the approach here, even down to the title, WHAT A MAN’S GOT TO DO. That’s a title that is all about a sense of purpose."

Brenn Hill is a young artist with a very well-defined sense of purpose and the talent to carry it through. "I describe myself as a little bit of George Strait, a little bit of Bruce Springsteen, and a whole lot of Ian Tyson and John Denver," says Brenn, who has been inspired by many kinds of music, but has always known he wanted to make Western music his home. "The music is a way that I can try to bring that lifestyle back to the forefront of people’s hearts and minds, and it gives me a sense of purpose. I feel like I’m accomplishing something with my music. If I can activate the people who live this Western lifestyle as well as the people who are fascinated with this lifestyle, maybe I’ve accomplished something beyond making music."