Brian Nahlen
Early Life
Brian Nahlen is a singer-songwriter/producer, born on December 9, 1976, in Mildenhall, England, UK. He was a military brat, living in Mildenhall, San Antonio, Texas, and Athens, Greece. In 1984, his parents divorced; he, his mom, and his sister moved to North Little Rock, Arkansas, and he’s been there ever since.
Brian started playing guitar at 13. At 16, he performed with the NLRHS Jazz Band until he graduated.
At 19, Brian started singing and playing as a solo act and writing original music.
Career
Brian has been a full-time musician for the last 20 years. He regularly performs alone, in his namesake full band, or in a duo with Jason Hale or Nick Devlin. Past band stints include Dead Fish, Sunny Daze, Big John Miller Band, Quadraphonic, and Pepperland.
He is an Arkansas Ambassador, chosen by the Arkansas Tourism Department to represent the best the state has to offer in music and culture.
His original music has been called “finely crafted, soulful, deftly fuses funk, jazz, gospel, pop and hip hop.” The Brian Nahlen Band’s live performances showcase each player’s forte, and no two gigs are the same. A few notable performances include opening the 2018 Central Arkansas Music Awards and performing for the Little Rock 9 at a dinner for the 50th Anniversary of the Little Rock Central High School Integration.
Brian has released three albums, “Better Than Thought It Could Be” (the title track was featured in an Arkansas Parks and Tourism commercial), “Cicada Moon,” and "hiding behind blue skies," as well as five singles: “I Might Be Leavin’ (feat. Big Piph)," “In the Old Days,” “You Fool,” “I Won't Yield,” and “Beautiful Child (feat. Genine LaTrice Perez).” All of these are available on Apple Music, Spotify, Tidal, and other streaming services. He continues to release new songs regularly.
The Brian Nahlen Band showcases a wonderfully eclectic mix of rock and funk, sweet ballads and dynamic protest anthems. The band includes five accomplished musicians who blend original music and reimagined covers in every show. The lineup features frontman and guitarist/singer Nahlen, guitarist Jason Lee Hale, keyboardist Tommy Priakos, bassist Brian Wolverton, and drummer/percussionist Patrick Lindsey.
Brian is known as a social activist and often is asked to play benefit shows, which have benefited radio station KABF, Puerto Ricans in Arkansas (he coordinated this), The Van, RAICES (Reuniting Immigrant Families), the Buffalo River, Animal Village, Birch Tree Communities, Jericho Way, and Methodist Family Health.
Personal Life
Brian is married and has two teenage sons, a couple of dogs and a pair of cats (ah, the symmetry!). He loves to garden. He also loves stargazing and movies and has started work on a soundtrack dedicated to both.
