Citizen Badger

Citizen Badger was formed in Fall 2017 by Daylen Brinkley, Jonathon McGrath, and Mike Francoeur. The trio initially formed as Daylen was looking to create a full band for some of the original songs he had written. They played their first show in Delray Beach, FL as ‘Daylen Brinkley & Friends’. Given the warm reception by their audience they decided to play together more frequently and started performing under the new name, Citizen Badger. They are currently working on their first album and playing shows to build their following. Their style is indie folk rock with a blend of roots, americana, country, jazz, soul, and gospel influences.

Mike Francoeur plays drums with a passionate style heavily influenced by Gospel and Jazz Fusion music. His playing style imbues songs with an extra layer of energy that makes it difficult not to move with the performance. He is a big fan of Snarky Puppy and other contemporary jazz artists as well as a veteran of WGI Percussion.

Jon McGrath is a WGI percussion veteran as well, but has much more influence from the Country genre. As a big fan of the jazz greats and a regular performer of Jaco Pastorius compositions, Jon’s goal is to serve every song by making it as harmonically and rhythmically interesting as possible. A talented composer and arranger, Jon has performed original bass compositions publicly with very warm reception. He’s a musician’s musician and he is currently working on a solo album for his instrumental compositions.

Daylen Brinkley is originally from rural North FL and moved to West Palm Beach to go to college and pursue opportunities nearly six years ago. Having a background in classical music but raised in a very rural setting, Daylen has many eclectic experiences to pull from for his songwriting and performing. Although raised listening to classical music and having studied classical music in college, he listens to as many different genres as possible since he sees music as one of the best ways to connect with people. Due to his broad listening habits he is able to draw inspiration from a myriad of different places and take performances in unexpected directions, although his biggest passions are strong narratives and catchy hooks.

Citizen Badger released their first single, Should Have Been a Sailor, in November 2017 and anticipate releasing their first full album in Spring 2018. They are actively performing in venues all over Florida and look forward to what the future holds.