Juno award-winner Dan Bremnes left town with a warm fuzzy feeling.
The 32-year old singer-songwriter finished an 18-stop tour on April 17 and headed back to Nashville and his family.
Bremnes was touring his new album, Where the Light is, which won the 2016 Juno Award for Contemporary Christian/Gospel Album of the Year.
Bremnes recently shared the music from the album to a sold-out crowd in Salmon Arm.
“It was cool to be home, to see everybody show up, and it was exciting to play new music and share with a lot of people I know,” said Bremnes, who grew up in Salmon Arm. “Of all the shows I’ve done, to look out and see people I know, I felt so connected and I thank them.”
Bremnes, who moved to Nashville with his wife and young son two-and-a-half years ago, says he feels Salmon Arm is a supportive community for artistic people.
And so is Nashville, says the talented singer songwriter, who is signed to Capitol Records.
“It’s an exciting city with a lot of great music, not just Christian, but all genres,” he says. “It’s all the arts and beyond, with a lot of entrepreneurs starting their own companies.”
Where the Light Is, is a faith journey for which Bremnes wrote about 100 songs over the course of the year, with “many talented people.”
“It was definitely a lot of work; we had to pick 11 songs,” he says. “Up until this record, it was songs I was writing and producing on my own, so working with the best of the best really helped me grow as a songwriter.”
One of the songs, At your Feet, was written in Salmon Arm by Bremnes and Katherine Langridge.
“Life throws a lot of things both good and bad and the well (of experiences) that’s been stored up over the past few years is what I write about,” says the artist whose mother, Lillis, was killed in a crash on the Trans-Canada Highway in 2006. “My goal is that people out there who have maybe gone through similar situations can draw from the message.”
One of his songs, So Can I, was recorded by U.S. band Audio Adrenaline and debuted on the Billboard Top 10.
“When I released my first single to U.S. radio, it went to number 2 on Christian radio in the U.S.,” Bremnes says. “The song was Beautiful, an older song that Capitol re-released.”
Back in Nashville for a few weeks, Bremnes then heads off to New Zealand. And this summer, he travels to Sweden and Norway.
He has toured with, and opened for, Crowder and Tenth Avenue North, both quite big stateside, and will be playing a date with Chris Tomlin in Abbotsford.
“In the Christian world, it’s probably as big as it gets, so I’m looking forward to that,” he says, noting his recent Canadian tour exceeded expectations. “We have probably been seeing crowds of 500 to 800 in the bigger centres.”
While his career has been very exciting, Bremnes makes sure he has quality time with his family by never away from home for more than two weeks at a time.
“I try to be home a healthy amount so I can still be a good husband and father,” he says noting his wife Brittney, fully supports his career and the hard work and travelling involved. “Music is an all-or-nothing, 24-7, 365. There’s no rest for the weary sometimes.”