Today we’d like to introduce you to Brooke Thompson.
Hi Brooke, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself
I started got interested in music and started taking classical piano lessons at 10 and began writing music at 13. Music was my way to express myself when I didn’t feel I could in my real life. It was always and still is a huge [art of my personal growth. I went to music school at Appalachian State University after high school and studies Music Industry Studies with a concentration in Recording and Production. I did not finish my degree for financial reasons but I figured at that point my music career was up to my own drive anyway so I moved to Wilmington, NC to live for a year as a musician and decide what big city I wanted to start in. During that year I interned at a music venue called “Ziggy’s By The Sea.” Initially, I started that internship for fun, little did I know it would snowball into a full-time career for me. After that year I moved to Nashville and after a slew of random gigs and jobs, I landed a solid house engineer gig at the former ‘B.B King’s Blues Club” of Nashville. During that time of working there and cultivating my engineer skills, I competed my first independent music project titles “Cotton Candy Dream.” It was released late in 2019 and I never did an official release show because of the pandemic, but I believe everything happens for a reason and we gotta learn how to believe God is always looking out for us in this life so we can find the doors to opportunities that are truly meant for us! Currently, I am still a full-time freelance live engineer in Nashville and part-time solo artist as a blues/soul cover and original artist. I am also working on my next music project and pursuing other writing and producing opportunities. I am excited to see what the next 5 years in Nashville holds!
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
The road has been anything bit smooth lol! Between family issues, starting out broke as hell, relationship issues, and dealing with being a female live engineer in a man’s world, who is not afraid to embrace her feminine, the road has been tough. Learning who I am and my true value has been the hardest part of my journey though. That’s the foundation of your life, your relationship with yourself. I am just now getting a hold on the woman I truly am and where I’m going. I believe life is a constant journey of death and rebirth of the soul, but something just clicked this year for me as a woman. When loss and instability is all you’ve ever known, you eventually reach a breaking point and learn that your peace is within and it takes work. If I could tell my younger self something, I’d say “Care about yourself enough to go to therapy. Put you first. You can’t radiate love to the world when you are depleted.”
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I am at my core a writer. That’s why I make music. It’s how I express myself best. That is my specialty and more specifically country music because that’s what I grew up listening to. I don’t really see myself being a country artist because I love making all types of music, so I hope to write for bigger country artists one day. I am also known in Nashville as a Live Sound Engineer. In fact, before I released my EP in 2019 a lot of people, I knew here didn’t know I was a writer or artist! I am most proud of the fact that I have never given up on my dreams and ultimately myself. What I believe sets me apart from others is my ability to maintain my integrity and being genuinely a nice person in an industry oversaturated with the opposite.
The crisis has affected us all in different ways. How has it affected you and any important lessons or epiphanies you can share with us?
Being a creative is perfecting the art of pivoting in life. A true artist takes and ugly situation and either literally or figuratively slaps some paint on it and makes it art. Being a creative is a perspective, a lifestyle, not a career.
Contact Info:
- Email: brookethompsonmusic@gmail.com
- Website: http://www.brookethompsonmusic.com
- Instagram: instagram.com/brookethompsonmusic
- Facebook: facebook.com/brookethompsonmusic
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/brookelikeaboss
Image Credits
Melissa Cockman Photography
Hayley Beals
Kiko
