Music Nation is a Music Video Competition for Independent Artists

Brian Wallen is a busy man. With six CD releases, a DVD project, and about 100 shows a year, (including a performance on the plaza at the Ryman Auditorium this past summer) he would be. What makes it so extraordinary is that Brian is only 16 years old. You see, Brian isn’t your average teenager. He picked up the guitar at age 10, an interest perfectly natural for a young child. But it’s when he started picking up everything else that it became clear that he wasn’t exactly average. Brian plays 9 instruments, which he says is, “quite a few, I guess”. What’s more remarkable is the fact that he hasn’t had any formal instruction. But it doesn’t stop there; Brian isn’t just an instrumentalist; he’s also a singer, songwriter, and record producer. He has his own studio, where he writes and tracks the latest chapter in his musical journeys. That chapter includes those aforementioned six album releases over the span of two years. How do these projects stand out from the crowd? Brian articulates, “I really feel like these albums are an expression of me.” A big part in this has been Brian’s songwriting. He explains, “a song that’s already been done has a predefined sound. With an original song, the door is wide open to just about any possibility. The same goes with recording in your own studio, on your own time. I take literally months of time to create my albums, so when I record it’s not like I’m going into an environment where I’m being forced to create. I did it exactly how I wanted it to be done.” Brian arranged, performed, recorded, produced and mastered everything you hear on his projects. Every vocal and instrumental part has been deftly shaped to his standards. You won’t hear anything that isn’t uniquely, and completely Brian. So has Brian succeeded in his goal of carving out his own niche in the musical world? The answer is yes. Take a listen to one of his projects, and you’ll find Brian at the peak of his creative force, standing out from the crowd of singers, instrumentalists and artists that came before him. To sum it up, Brian states, “I’m not your typical teenager, but I’m fine with that…I wouldn’t want to be anything else than what I am.”