Rising Stars: Meet Karen Ballew, Will MacLean, Bryan Brock, and Patrick Atwater

Today we’d like to introduce you to Karen Ballew, Will MacLean, Bryan Brock, and Patrick Atwater.

Hi Karen, Will, Bryan, and Patrick, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstories with our readers.
(Karen reflects) 
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember… singing hymns with my grandma, singing in choirs and musical theatre productions, and eventually studying music in college. After graduating, I moved to Dallas, Texas, where I discovered a thriving Irish music scene. Since 2008, I’ve been taking classes at the O’Flaherty Irish Music Retreat and founded and directed a youth chorus at the North Texas School of Irish Music (2013 – 2017). I also enjoyed singing with a global Christian worship group and recorded an EP with the Irish vocal ensemble Anúna!

In 2017, my husband Brad and I moved to Nashville. As we began to explore the live music scene, I was inspired by both the collaborative nature and diversity of the music community here! It’s fun to think back on the things that brought The Deer’s Cry band together. I first connected with Bryan Brock, as he is from my hometown of Abilene, Texas! We both love world traditional music. Bryan has studied percussion in Ghana and Cuba and is immersed in the Nashville Latin and jazz music scenes, which led to me meeting Patrick Atwater—jazz bassist, arranger, and composer. As I began writing more songs and prepared to record an album, I asked Bryan and Patrick to record, along with some other friends. I had a few songs I really wanted banjo on—and lo and behold, I get a strong recommendation for Will MacLean (who plays amazing acoustic and electric guitar as well)! Will also plays with The Cleverlys and enjoys performing bluegrass and writing his own tunes. Over the course of working on the Rise with the Dawn album, we became a band!

Our name, The Deer’s Cry, comes from a translation of the title of an Old Irish prayer, St. Patrick’s Breastplate, which reflects on the mystery and grandeur of God, the personal strength He provides, and the ever-abiding presence of Christ.

The Deer’s Cry recorded our second album Heal the Heart with Nick Bullock at The Doghouse Studio in Nashville.

This album represents a journey of healing, hope, and transformation! Musically, it is an intertwining of our different inspirations and experiences from folk, Celtic, world, bluegrass, jazz, classical, and rock music. Heal the Heart was released on September 30, 2022!

I’m sure you wouldn’t say it’s been obstacle free, but so far would you say the journey has been a fairly smooth road?
We launched our first album, Rise with the Dawn, two months before the pandemic hit. We had each been performing in different scenes and with other bands, but January 2020 was the first time we performed together as The Deer’s Cry. Even as things began to open back up for live performances, we were starting at square one finding venues to play in.

In 2021, a producer here in Nashville, Nick Bullock, reached out to us about recording a new project! I was very encouraged by Nick, and that’s just what we needed to focus on during that time: writing new songs, arranging music together, exploring ideas, and honing our sound as a band. Thanks to Nick and some other wonderful people who’ve entered our lives, we have the opportunity to perform two release shows in October and share our music with more people in the future!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
It’s hard to be objective about your own art, but I believe there are some things that make our music a unique experience.

I love poetry and singing sacred music and folk songs, and because of this, I think The Deer’s Cry songs are a bit like ‘sung poetry,’ exploring themes of nature, the cosmos, and the eternal soul.

I sang in a global Christian worship group for seven years, singing biblical songs from around the world. That experience along with singing traditional songs in the Irish language has greatly shaped my voice as a songwriter!

When The Deer’s Cry collaborates on an arrangement, we enjoy exploring all the different music that inspires us. Whatever serves the song, we keep! I think this approach gives a lot of variety to our music and has resulted in an interesting fusion.

My cousin Madison Thames creates original artwork for our songs. The colors and dynamic light and shadow in her drawings are so transporting. I think they beautifully convey the themes in our music!

We’re also thankful for the inventive music videos that my husband Brad Ballew creates for our music; everything from filming beneath the northern lights in Iceland to green screen shoots (placing the band inside one of Madison’s paintings!), and transporting us with virtual landscapes in Unreal Engine.

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?
It seems like there’s so much to worry about these days. After dealing with anxiety attacks and vestibular migraines, I’ve discovered that I need to learn how to release things and take life one moment at a time. If we allow ourselves to rest, and keep our minds and hearts open, the solutions often present themselves, sometimes in the most unexpected ways.

The isolation due to the Covid-19 crisis was particularly difficult for me. If nothing else, it reminded me to always be grateful for family, friends, and community. Now that people are gathering again, I’m keenly aware of the gift of friendship and collaboration and making the most of our time together. Even during a pandemic and economic crisis, life is full of wonder and possibility.

There are brilliant scientists, nurses, and doctors who serve their communities every day, and people in all different professions who take pride in their work and seek to listen and share kindness with others. This crisis has motivated me to reexamine my life and focus more on the things that are enduring, in and beyond this present existence.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thedeerscry.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedeerscryband/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thedeerscryband/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCvr3cS-YXq8SyRAcB8g7vJg

Image Credits

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