Brett Young

Shy Blakeman – Brett Young
Cover photo 12/25/17

Brett Young may hate to see 2017 end. 

The Southern California native has had a whirlwind of a year, opening for tours with the likes of Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum for much of the year to being nominated as best new male vocalist by the Academy of Country Music. 

But according to his manager, Van Haze of Red Light Management, he’d best catch his breath because 2018 is going to be a doozy.

“He’s playing Stagecoach, Luke Bryan’s festival in Cancun, Mexico; C2C, going to Australia, and he’s direct support for Thomas Rhett. It’s gonna be a busy year,” Haze told Pollstar.

Young should be more than up to the task. He’s a worker, not just in the studio or on stage but in the writing rooms of Nashville. Of the 12 tracks on his eponymous debut album, Young wrote 11 of them.

According to Haze, that songwriting touch is a big part of Young’s appeal.

“He writes from a very personal place and he knows who he is,” Haze said. “I think that draws people to him.

“He doesn’t sound like anyone…his voice is very unique. That’s what drew me to him…the first time I heard his voice I knew that he could breakthrough with the right songs.”

When he’s not being introduced to new fans from arena stages with Bryan, Rhett and other country music royalty, he’s taking to stages as the main event and averaging 1,193 attendance and $22,810 gross ticket sales.

On the recording front, Young has scored platinum and multiplatinum hits with singles “Sleep Without You” and “In Case You Didn’t Know,” which also earned a nod for CMT Music breakthrough video of the year.