“Brooks has a great voice and a number of musical talents…I love that his eyes shine with life. He’s an open person. From what I can tell, he’s growing all the time.”
-Stephen Kellogg Valley News 2015
Brooks Hubbard is a national touring independent artist from the mountains of rural New England. Since the age of three, his connection with music has led him on a path of continuous growth, both as an artist and human being. From writing songs about the Iraq war at age fifteen to recording with members of Jackson Browne & James Taylors’ bands, countless house shows and concert venues , to opening for artists like KT Tunstall, Robert Cray, Reckless Kelly, Matt Mays, and Stephen Kellogg. Brooks has put in his 10,000 hours and then some to become a powerful singer, songwriter, and entertainer.
About the Artist
Hubbard grew up in Enfield, NH with his parents, Wendy and Gary, and his older sister, Hilary. Growing up in New England bathed him in an everlasting connection with the natural world. At an early age, he was drawn to the outdoors hiking and skiing with his mom, as well as fishing and camping with his dad. Music came naturally in the family. Brooks played his first concert backing up his dad’s band on drums at his 3rd grade ice cream social. After the events of 9/11, a powerful performance of “My City of Ruins” by Bruce Springsteen on a telethon broadcast made a big impact on the then nine year old Hubbard. Soon after, he learned guitar to accompany his new found singing voice and quickly immersed himself in a plethora of classic artists like Bruce Springsteen, Jackson Browne, and James Taylor, as well as contemporary singer-songwriters like John Mayer, Jack Johnson, and Dave Matthews.
By high school, he was writing songs and performing them for his friends at house parties and summer camp. He went to college, first at Umass Lowell, and failed miserably in his music classes. After learning his self-taught way of playing wasn’t benefiting his grades in music school, he transferred to Keene State and changed majors to Political Science. Throughout his college years, he played nearly five gigs a week and performed many late-night dorm room concerts. Graduating in 2014 with a bachelor’s degree, he had already known all along that his heart was set on pursuing a career in music. His first release “Press Play EP” came out shortly after graduation, while his second and longer full-length album “Start of Me” was released in July 2015. Both records were produced and engineered by longtime friend and former Lowell classmate, Mike Ryan. They feature the majority of Hubbard’s earliest fan favorite songs including “Not a Love Song” and “Hometown”. Brooks played drums, guitars, and various other instruments on all tracks, along with his other fellow classmate and friend, Justin Kimball on bass guitar.
After the release of “Start of Me” in 2015, Hubbard and his now wife, Sam, packed up their suitcases along with their dog, Piper, and moved halfway across the country to Nashville, Tennessee. It was there that his talents in performance and writing were developed at a professional level. Later in 2015, Hubbard embarked on his first tour with mentor and friend, Stephen Kellogg, who also tapped Brooks to open a leg of shows the following year on the West Coast. In 2017, Jackson Browne session guitarist & solo artist, Val McCallum, gave Brooks the chance of a lifetime by producing the LP “American Story” and recruiting some of music’s biggest names for the production including:
Pete Thomas (drums), Greg Leisz (guitar/steel), Val McCallum (guitar/vocals), Bob Glaub (bass), Jeff Babko (keyboards),
Chris Steffen (engineer), Z Berg (featured artist),
Ed Cherney (mix engineer), and Eric Boulanger (master engineer).
Recorded at Band House Studios in Los Angeles over 3 days in February 2017. The album has very little overdubbing with most tracks being the 1st or 2nd take. The album artwork also features pictures by legendary photographer/director Sam Jones.
In 2016, he joined forces with friends, Nate Mould (drums) and Justin Kimball (bass), to form the Brooks Hubbard Band and went on to tour thirty states a year for nearly three years straight, playing to appreciative crowds and gaining fans who feel more like family. The BHB released a series of singles produced/mixed by Mike Ryan, engineered by Phillip Smith (assistant engineer at RCA), and mastered by Pete Lyman (Infrasonic Sound). The BHB is also featured on Brooks’s 2015 solo “Where the Water’s Cold EP” recorded at Blackbird Studios and produced by Dustin Olyan, with guest vocals by Stephen Kellogg and Nicole Scott.
Like many artists, the years 2020-2022 have forced an inevitable shift in the path for Brooks to take a break from heavy touring and spend more time writing, recording, and performing from home. He got married to the love of his life, lost a beloved dog named Emmy, and started navigating the new world of live-streaming free broadcasts on his music pages. Through several trips back home to New Hampshire, a decision was made to move back to the Upper Valley region to be close to family as he and his wife start a family of their own, but that doesn’t mean that his plans for touring and gaining a bigger following have ended.
Brooks is focused on the future: becoming a dad, supporting a family with an independent career in music, and creating lasting memories through special performances and matured songwriting abilities. Audiences have noted his ability to setup his songs with the stories of their creation and effortlessly display a genuine heartfelt appreciation for his fanbase. He is as authentic an artist as he is a person, and the connection that live in-person shows create is special and unique. In 2022, Hubbard hopes to have multiple releases: songs, videos, livestream events, as well as in-person public and private bookings. Aside from his own music, Hubbard is frequently hired for private functions (weddings, business retreats, zoom happy hours, personal messages etc). Be sure to email brookshubbardbooking@gmail.com to connect directly with the BH camp for any booking inquiries.
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Peace, Love, & Music