Music has always been a part of Brandon Bush’s life. His over-ambitious mother wanted to ensure that Brandon had every opportunity in life and enrolled her young son into every after-school program imaginable throughout the school year. Ballet, swim team, t-ball, soccer, gymnastics, and so many other activities all fell away once Brandon discovered his love of music after being enrolled in the Suzuki method music classes when he was four years old. “I think that my mother thought that the world was bigger than the one that she saw around her and that she wanted me and my brother to experience a bigger, richer world,” says Brandon.
Brandon has continued to be inspired to see the bigger, richer world. He has played on countless recordings and toured the world playing with musical acts such as Sugarland, Shawn Mullins, and Train. Currently Brandon runs a music publishing collective where he works as a composer, songwriter, and producer for television and film and lives in Sandy Springs. “I am a Star Wars kid and there is a whole generation of us whose minds were blown by Star Wars," says Brandon. “When I look back, it’s honestly the John Williams score that was truly resonating for me. Putting music to visuals is life. It is a perfect storm of communication for me.” Over the last two years Brandon has turned his attention to musical theater. “I have learned how powerful live theatre is. I learned how nuanced it is, and I have become very passionate and interested in how to compose music for live theater,” he says. “The job of live performance is to help transfer emotions that are in the song to all the people in the crowd.”
For Brandon, it is a special skill to be able to see other people’s perspectives and not to impose your own. “I feel like I have learned that from the people in my life, my amazing parents, my amazing friends, and the amazing experiences that I have had!" It is certainly Brandon’s incredible sense of adventure that is fueling him now, as he is currently working on multiple musical theater projects in New York, Miami, and right here in Atlanta at the Alliance Theatre.
Brandon’s love of music has guided him throughout his life and he is a huge advocate for his fellow musicians here at home and across the country. He has served in many aspects with the Recording Academy Atlanta chapter, from the local board, to sitting on the National Executive Board as a trustee, to co-chairing the National Advocacy Committee. “I am a big fan of the organization,” says Brandon, “not just for what it does for advocation of musician rights, supporting music education, or providing much needed health and mental health services for musicians in need – but also for how the organization as a whole is evolving and striving to lead changes in the music community around diversity, inclusion, and representation.”
While the world continues to get busier for Brandon Bush, he does take time to enjoy life and can often be found enjoying dinner and a cocktail at Casa Cielo, or a quick bite at Junya Ramen.
More at BrandonBush.com
