Luke Brindley

With his latest self-titled solo record, New Jersey raised DC-based Luke Brindley affirms his relevance among leading young singer/songwriters. Critics and fans are already responding with praise. The Washington Post called it "One of the year's best roots-rock releases."

Luke is not your typical rock star. Though he appears to have all of the ingredients included in the modern recipe; young, good looking, rebel dress and incredible talent, his music draws from another time - it is reminiscent of artists some decades ago who focused on the timeless art of songwriting.

Married to his high school sweetheart (a la Bono and fellow Jersey born rocker Jon Bon Jovi), compassion and the challenge of keeping love alive in a modern and dangerous world are recurring themes in Luke's music and his life. They recently took on the added challenge of a foster child born to a drug-addicted mother. His life-long pursuit of music has led him to travels in West Africa, Brazil and Eastern Europe and consistent touring across the country. He studied guitar at Rutgers with Ken Wessel, guitarist with free jazz pioneer Ornette Coleman, and built his main guitar himself. He is also one of the owners of Jammin' Java - a 200 seat music club recently named one of the Top 100 Clubs in the World by Pollstar Magazine.

When asked about his influences he names artists from the classic singer/songwriter pantheon such as Dylan, Neil Young and Van Morrison, the straightforward American songwriters like Springsteen, Tom Petty and Paul Westerberg, the elegance of Nick Drake and early Bruce Cockburn, the rawness and simplicity of early American and British punk, the intricate and revolutionary guitar work of D'Gary, Michael Hedges and Ali Farka Toure, modern songwriters like Joe Purdy, Josh Ritter and Patty Griffin and but also authors and poets like Thomas Merton, Rilke, James Wright, and Rumi.

No - definitely not typical.

Inspired by the early Motown recordings and the classic 70's singer/songwriters records, the entire record was recorded live in the studio with minimal overdubs in only three days. Luke entered the studio in Fall 2006 with a collection of new songs and a stellar band of DC-area musicians including a horn section, brother Daniel on keyboards, and brother-in-law Jared Bartlett as producer. The result is "a well-crafted and fairly seamless production, a collection of tunes that consistently makes the most of Brindley's raspy voice, soulful delivery and impressive guitar work", says the Washington Post.