Bryan Dunn's classic roots rock weaves tales of romance, murder mystery, ghost stories and late night drinking with catchy hooks and clever wordplay. A true storyteller, his mix of Texas Twang, Irish folk, and New York City grit can move audiences to tears with one song and get them dancing with the next. Dunn will release Sweetheart of the Music Hall on April 3rd, a disc that highlights his timeless - at times love-worn and other times exuberant - whiskey-soaked sound. Think: George Jones and George Harrison drinking Jameson (in Brooklyn). 'Strongly influenced by the 60's musical invasion of The Beatles, it's almost impossible not to hear fragments of Lennon and McCartney in some of Dunn's work. With his passion for folk music burning bright, he fuses the two influences together making for a sound that's just irresistibly sweet.' - Joel Crane, NME An army brat born in California, Dunn spent time living in Great Britain, Georgia, and Germany before finally settling in Austin, Texas, where, while working toward his PhD in physics at the University of Texas, he later began his music career. I was taking classes, working, and playing four nights a week, not just in Austin, but Dallas, San Antonio, and more, said Dunn. Some members of my band had moved up to Brooklyn and that drew a line in the sand for me. Stay and finish school or move and see what happens, he said. After realizing that his passion lay more in music than electromagnetism, he moved to NYC in the early '00s, forming a band called Simple Thing. In 2006, Dunn released his debut solo record Static & Scripture, and the same year nabbed second place in the Williamsburg Live Songwriting Competition. In 2007 he was awarded Honorable Mention in the Great American Songwriting Competition for 'Geraldine, and in 2008 released Shackle Melodic (EP), recorded at the Clive Davis School of Music. 2009 saw the release of Vicious Waltz, a disc recorded at The Gallery Recording Studios in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and released to a sellout crowd at NYC's Mercury Lounge. Following a string of east coast tour dates with musician and producer Chris Cubeta (Wakey!Wakey!, Matt Cranstoun, Harper Blynn, Elizabeth and the Catapult, Golden Earring), Dunn recorded a cover of the Kinks 'Father Christmas' at Cubeta's Brooklyn-based studio GaluminumFoil Productions. After the success of that collaboration, they returned to the studio in late 2010 to begin work on the follow up. Sweetheart of the Music Hall is led by tales like Marlene, a murder mystery; Adeline, inspired by an abandoned amusement park in Berlin; and 3 Years On a song about leaving Austin, the live music capital of the world. The album title serves as both an homage to the Byrds' 'Sweetheart of the Rodeo' (also referenced in the song 'Geraldine') and a nod to the musicians with whom Dunn has climbed the ranks at Rockwood Music Hall. The title track is a fictionalized account of weekly late night performances at the venue, and loosely based on musician Misty Boyce, who plays piano on it. For a long time, it seemed like Austin had a community of musicians but New York had a scene, said Dunn. But, when Rockwood opened and the late nights started, that changed. Suddenly you were playing for and with people because it was fun, not because you had an agenda. There were nationally known acts mingling with locals, but it didn't matter. People went there to listen, not to be seen. Sweetheart's pulp style album art -- conceived by Dunn after grabbing a Hard Case Crime novel to read during jury duty -- features cover model Ann Courtney of Mother Feather and occasional bartender at Rockwood. Originally a photograph taken by New York City photographer Emily Raw, it was handed off to Glen Orbik, a notable illustrator for Hard Case Crime novels. Orbik then enlisted Steve Cooley, who's worked on several books for the same company, to create the design. Sweetheart also features Drew McKeon (Hall & Oates) on drums, Ryan Vaughn (Joshua Radin, John Forte) on drums and percussion, Jeremy Goldsmith (Gabe Dixon) on guitar, Joseph Bren
