Here are four songs that I love and wanted to share with you as a Happy New Year gift.  Recorded one evening in my basement in late December.  They aren't perfect, but they get the job done.  Enjoy!

18 Wheels

Oh, Carolina

Here's a handful of songs from Erik Brandt's 3 solo albums - The Long Winter, Sometimes and Green Eyed Alone.  "Epiphany" was a bonus track from the Green Eyed Alone sessions and "The End (2008)" is a remix featuring the strings of Matt Gosden

1-4-5

A Poison Tree

Epiphany

Wherever You Go

Rambling

I Drove Past Your House Today

Greater Than

The End (2008)

"The Long Winter by Erik Brandt is a beautiful album. What really blows my mind and influenced my thinking is the continuity of the performance. 
A "must buy" album."
John Shelton Ivany.  May 2012

Erik Brandt has been the ringleader of the award-winning eclectic Twin Cities-based Urban Hillbilly Quartet since 1995.  By night, he plays music.  By day, he teaches English and Journalism at Harding High School in St. Paul.  He’s played in venues all over the USA, Canada, Australia, and on various street corners throughout Europe.  He’s also taught high school Shakespeare, rudimentary grammar, haikus and standardized test prep.

On stage, Erik performs mainly original material drawn from the Americana vein.  Most of his original tunes can be found on the eight albums he’s recorded with the UHQ and his three solo albums, including his latest, The Long Winter. When choosing covers, he pulls liberally from the catalogs of Bob Dylan, Big Bill Broonzy, Johnny Cash, and other Americana heroes.  As a multi-instrumentalist, Erik switches between acoustic guitar, piano and accordion during performances.  

His music has been influenced by and compared to: Americana powerhouses The Jayhawks, Gillian Welch, and Uncle Tupelo; Georgia’s Vigilantes of Love; Britain’s The Waterboys; Australia’s Paul Kelly; Canada’s Bruce Cockburn; and folk/jazz pioneers David Grisman, Paris Combo and Tin Hat Trio.  

Though Erik mostly performs solo, he is often joined by guests from UHQ and other bands on stage.  The combination of his different instruments, songwriting talent and musical guests makes his live performances dynamic and unique.  


Erik Brandt and the UHQ

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