Rachel Cruz
- Jan 3, 2021
- 2 min read

Music Production with Singer-Songwriter, Brian Dollaway

Nashville singer/songwriter, Brian Dollaway is a classically and jazz trained musician with over 20 years of experience in the industry.

Creating full scale recordings using Logic Pro X, Melodyne Tuning and more, he writes original music as well as collaborates with other artists.

Every singer has a musical journey made up of moments that shape them into the artist they are today. The same can be said of this rising star. An All-State Tenor, Brian had been classically trained by, then mentor, Carl Kinkel, an operatic singer. Kinkel, the youth choir director at Brian’s church at the time, took him under his wing as a teenager.

Inspired by genres like Hard Rock, Grunge and Emo, which were huge in New England during his youth, Brian began to develop his own style. Not entirely unphased, or uninspired by the classic rock influencers and performers throughout the generations.

“...in our house, and around my family, we listened to a lot of James Taylor, Neil Young, Eric Clapton, classic Rock, and even Frank Sinatra. It was impossible to not take influence from those classic artists.”

When he graduated, he was accepted into Berklee College of Music where he “was truly introduced to Jazz music for the first time.”

“I studied voice under Marlon Saunders and fell in love with artists like Kurt Elling. All the while, I was still playing in my original Hard Rock band ‘Griffon’ and have been singing that genre since.”

Eventually, Brian would find his own voice, writing songs like his first original ‘Home’.

“Home isn’t about a place, it’s about that special person which happens to be my wife.”

Brian has performed at venues like Carnegie Hall in Boston, Tanglewood Theatre and Hard Rock Boston.

“In my past I’ve opened up for bands like Tantric, Evan’s Blue, Smile Empty Soul, and some others…” shared Brian.

He is currently in communication with Copperline Music and their sync department.

“One of the great things about being undefined as an artist with many genres under your belt, is that you have more to offer for commercial placement. I have always wanted to be a sync writer. I studied songwriting at Berklee, and I remember taking a jingle writing class that I absolutely feel in love with. Nothing is official yet, but hopefully soon we will be looking for commercial placement on some of my songs.”