Q&A with singer-songwriter Chastity Brown ahead of Sunday's DBTR show
This weekend, Rochester will welcome singer-songwriter Chastity Brown to the Think Bank Down by the Riverside stage. Inspired by her roots in Tennessee, Brown tells powerful stories through a mixture of folk, country, and soul music.
The show begins Sunday at 7 p.m. with a set from Minnesota blue-rock band Bluedog, followed by Brown’s performance at 8 p.m. The concert will be held at Mayo Park with free admission.
Brown began her musical journey at a young age playing the drums and saxophone, exploring singing and songwriting soon after. Since then, she has been featured in multiple magazines as well as on NPR’s Favorite Sessions. Aside from sharing her music across the U.S., Brown has toured internationally in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, and more.
Born in Tennessee and based in Minneapolis, Brown is known as much for her vocal abilities as she is her poignant lyrics. As a queer, biracial woman, she has confronted adversity — choosing to respond to it with persistence and self-love. Staying true to herself, Brown continues to uphold the value of self-worth and respect through her music.
Contributor Grace Sprecher recently connected with Brown in to learn more about the inspiration behind her songwriting and the experiences that have led her to where she is as a musician today. Below are some of the highlights of that conversation.
MCB: Who has influenced your songwriting the most?
Brown: Octavia Butler, a science fiction writer, and James Baldwin, a novelist. Octavia’s writing is so magical, it’s kind of like social activism through science fiction. Her main characters are either Brown women or completely androgynous species … Every book is so wild and wonderful … I am blown away that someone can create a world that doesn’t look like ours, but yet has similar trials and difficulties. As a songwriter, I don’t have 296 pages to convey meaning. I have anywhere from three to six minutes, so I’m inspired by those kinds of stories — how I can talk about something complex and maybe not answer the questions, but just acknowledge that we all have different perspectives and needs?
MCB: Your song “Colorado” is one of our favorites. What was your creative process behind this song, and what do you think draws your fans to it most?
Brown: I can say what draws me to my favorite song: the melody. [Colorado] is a song that you can join in on and that just feels good for an audience. That particular song, I wrote with one of my long time writing partners, Robert Mulrennan. He’s a really talented guitarist that can play in different genres, and he was on tour with a hip hop band at the time, and they were in Colorado. If you can imagine the song without me singing, he literally sent me all of it — the drums, the intros, the guitar part … I was on a solo tour driving back from Chicago to Minneapolis, so I had like seven hours in the car jamming to this song. The verses came out, which were very true to the moment I was in — driving around the country singing in bars!
MCB: You wrote “Mad Love” based on an encounter with a white supremacist, and the lyrics seem to be inclusive of everyone who has gone through something similar. Do you find yourself writing music for yourself, your fans, or a mixture of both?
Brown: I think it’s a mixture of both. When I first wrote that song, it was almost 20 minutes long and it was kind of just a free write. I was writing out all the things I felt, my fear, but also this belief in humanity — but then at the same time acknowledging my people, the people of the African Diaspora. … Black music influences everything. It influences the top dances on TikTok, all of the memes, and cultural expression. So, what is it about a group of people that constantly shape culture, yet we’re constantly afflicted with oppression? And yet, we have this enormous generosity.
With regard to that white supremacist that came to my concert, I don’t know what that dude’s goal was. All I could think was, “what did I do?” … I realized, I’m just a queer, Brown woman out here loving myself, and for some reason, that was an assault to that man’s reality, so much so that he wanted to harm me.
MCB: Has that experience strengthened your relationship with music or made you question it?
Brown: I think both … I’ve spent my whole life learning how to play and write songs, and I believe that what I do can offer a small portion of relief. I’m no more special than anyone in the community. Having that belief, and then having it be dramatically confronted with my physical safety … the reality is, I’m not safe anywhere. And, somehow, I can keep it moving. I can only dwell on it for so long. I deserve to have peace, I deserve to have fun, I deserve to be wild, I deserve to live my life. Music is my purpose, it doesn’t matter how far I try to run away from it — it’s what I do.
MCB: How did growing up in Tennessee influence the style of your music, and has it changed since moving to Minneapolis?
Brown: It has changed so much. Two things about growing up in Tennessee: one is that almost anyone can tell a story. Stories are the way of life, and that’s what’s culturally popular in music down there. The other thing about the South is that almost everybody sings. … Up here in Minneapolis, the first thing that I noticed is there are so many different styles of music here, and all these different styles are thriving. But, maybe only a quarter of it is songwriter style music. … There are a lot of guitarists in Minneapolis that can do soundscapes, and that has really influenced [my music]. I’ve fallen in love with that ethereal, electronic sound.
MCB: It has been a while since we have all been able to get together for live music. What has the connection with your fans been like coming out of covid?
Brown: It’s been really sweet. Folks are expressing that they’re ready to hear the new tunes, see me live, and to see the band live. I too am coming out of my own shell. I am being very pleasantly reminded that folks care about this music and want to hear it, and that feels really surreal. It’s been like, nothing for 17 months as far as playing shows. … It’s been a cool reception.
Watch Chastity Brown live in concert this Sunday in Rochester. Details here.
✍️ Interview by Grace Sprecher
About the opening act: Bluedog
Bluedog is a blues/rock band whose music is influenced by life experiences of Native people. “Native people have experienced the blues too. For us it reflects a significant part of life for Native people and our relationship with the U.S. government. All the pain we’ve endured from massacres, boarding schools, and forced removal from our homes, etc… all attempts to erase our culture and our people. We are still here. Our music celebrates life, the good and bad.” - Joni Weston, Bluedog
