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Bennett Brier was born in Beaumont, Texas, he lived his teenage years in Houston, Texas, served as a VISTA volunteer in Arkansas, and currently resides in Austin Texas. He hopes to retire to a life of musical creativity as soon as possible!

Bennett has composed music for over 30 years and has written over 150 songs to date. He is a member of BMI®, the Nashville Songwriters Association International Austin Chapter, and the National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences, Inc. - Texas Chapter.

ANTHEM, his 1st album of original music, was recorded with the help of such outstanding musicians as Van Wilks, Christine Albert, Jay Sims, Jeri Arsenault, Chris Maresh, Art Kidd, Conrad Deisler, Deb Schnack, Richard Bowden, Joe "King" Carrasco, Gene Elders, and his daughter, Jessica. ANTHEM received airplay in the US, Belgium, The Netherlands, France, and Slovenia and was even pirated in Sweden. He is now preparing to record a 2nd album for release.

Bennett's songwriting is recognized by the Southern Songwriters Guild and by Songwriter's Monthly magazine. If it must, his music can be classified as AAA, Adult Contemporary, Americana, or folk-rock. Bennett blends folk, blues, country, rock, pop, and bluegrass influences into his work.

He cites his major musical influences as Bob Dylan, the Beatles, Joni Mitchell; the talented friends he's played with over the years and the sensational musicians he's seen perform countless times in Austin. Bennett says, "The greatest little club that ever was in Austin, was called emmajoes, with a small "e". For $3 dollars tops, night after night after night, I could watch and listen to folks like Nanci Griffith, Butch Hancock, Lyle Lovett, Townes Van Zandt, David Halley, Lucinda Williams, Robert Earl Keen, and Jimmie Dale Gilmore!" For a short time, he and a friend performed in Austin as the duo, the Stragglers.

"When I was 17, I saw Bob Dylan perform twice the same night during his "comeback" tour and left those concerts overwhelmed and transformed by the raw poetry and timelessness of his music, words, and performance," says Bennett. "Inspired by these shows, I learned to play guitar and began writing songs. One day I wrote something really good that seemed to come from a place I never knew existed. I realized then that maybe I could write songs that mean something to myself and to others." Bennett adds, "They say that you spend your whole life making your first album. I feel that with my first CD "Anthem", for whatever it is worth, I've realized a lifelong dream to share, through my words and music, something timeless about myself."

You can contact Bennett at bbrier@austin.rr.com.

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