As a young adult, Brett was a Community Studies major at UC Santa Cruz. After graduation he met a visionary woman with an ear for raw talent. Her gift for getting people to listen and share her excitement about his music, were a perfect incubator for his unique voice & insightful songs. Their work together would change his life.

Brett started working with Leslie Merical in December 2002. She encouraged him to pursue music seriously and made sure he wasn't slowed by the challenges most new artists face. Inspired by the good in his lyrics and the reaction to his songs, Merical started by convincing promoters at venues to give him a chance to play, despite his inexperience. She connected with his fans at every show and made them feel like they were part of something wonderful while guiding him along the path most artists have to travel alone.

For fun, she invited him into her studio to record a few of his songs in December of 2002, and as they worked, she became convinced she could turn the songs into an album and help him get his music to a global audience. The result was Brett's self-titled debut, which they released on her Three Angels & A Saint label in late 2003. Although the album was initially meant for less public ears, it became obvious to Merical that people wanted to hear the magical, lo-fi recordings and were moved by the songs. Almost immediately, she found connections to KCRW DJ Chris Douridas, who spun the unknown artist's glorified demo on Valentine's Day 2004. It was a big break for Brett and Merical, and an encouraging sign they were on to something and on the right path!

In 2006, Merical told a friend, bassist/producer Kevin McCormick (Jackson Brown, Keb Mo', Melissa Etheridge), about Brett, hoping to interest him in producing the 2nd album. He'd picked up some melodic African bass chops while living in Spain, that lent themselves perfectly to the new songs Brett was eager to record, and a few months later they found themselves recording 'So Much More' at Groovemasters in Santa Monica.

Along the way, he's been invited to play on Dave Matthews' Music Cruise, and to tour and/or play on bills with John Mayer, Sheryl Crow, Shawn Colvin, ALO, Jackson Brown, Taj Mahal, Ziggy Marley, Xavier Rudd, Corinne Bailey Rae and others.

As with past tours, Brett is hoping to bring communities together and inspire his fans to get involved with local charity organizations as part of his idea called Love Speaks. Brett gives each non-profit charity group a few minutes on the stage each night before he plays to talk to our crowd about what they do and how the fan can get involved. Aside from being a part of our live show, we have established an online community (http://www.lovespeaks.org) where fans and non-profits alike can register and interact with one another.

For the kick-off show on November 13th at the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, the Love Speaks partner is The Nashville Rescue Mission and that night we will be hosting a winter coat drive. Lightning 100 will help rally support for those in need in Middle Tennessee by urging Brett's fans to bring coats or any other warm outerwear with them to donate to the Rescue Mission. The Nashville Rescue Mission is currently housing men, women & a small number of children, so anything & everything is much appreciated!