John Brendan Russell

As the father of three small children, John has a wealth of experience to draw upon for songwriting material. The family-friendly songs on John’s current release, “Family Portrait” have been garnering attention due to their ability to mix humor and family values in a fresh new way.

John was born in Baltimore, Maryland into an Air Force family. As such, his early years were spent in various parts of the continental United States, until his family settled in the Chicago area. John attended the University of Illinois, in Champaign, and began performing with various acoustic duets and trio’s on campus. After college, he returned to Chicago, and began performing throughout the area with a variety of bands.

His writing style can best be described as Alternative Country/Americana. Musical influences include, Jim Croce, Merle Haggard, Jerry Reed, CW McCall and Steve Earle. Norman Rockwell can be included as an artistic influence as well. Using song writing as his medium, John has successfully been able to tell stories of every day life with reality and humor, in much the same way Rockwell would have captured the same moment with paint.

In 2002, John’s debut album, “The Bluefish Manifesto” was released independently. Two of the songs from this album received commercial attention. John and his song “Anyway” were featured on WXRT (93.1 FM) during their “Local Anesthetic” segment. Another song, “Howl at the Moon” was licensed by Budweiser for use on their website in the Budweiser True Movie “Gas Food Beer”.

In 2003, John moved the family down to Nashville to be closer to the music industry. He performs each week at venues including The Bluebird Café, The French Quarter Café, and The Commodore Lounge. According to John, “Nashville provides a songwriter with a supportive artist community, and it’s a great place to raise a family.”

John’s current release, “Family Portrait” features original songs with an often humorous, sometimes touching look at family life. The musical styles include traditional country, western swing, bluegrass, rock-a-billy and adult contemporary. The songs are geared toward parents, but the whole family will appreciate the positive, upbeat nature of the lyrics. The kids will dance, the parents will laugh, and the grandparents will knowingly smile.