Brea Lawrenson: Ready for her close-up

Photo credit: Christine Tannis

I first heard Brea Lawrenson about seven years ago when she released the fantastic song “Honey”. I was hooked. It had all the elements of a great song, coupled with a great voice. Over the years since, I had heard a few of her singles and was happy to see she was still growing and building her brand. Fast forward to now and I was surprised that as of right now she is unsigned. She’s doing everything on her own and doing a great job of it. I love success stories like this, where a talent like Brea realizes that if you work hard and become amazing at every aspect of your career, things will happen for you. As long as you have the talent side down, working harder than everyone else will always get you further ahead.

Since the release of “Honey”, Brea has released two full length albums. Six of the songs off of those records charted top 100 on the Canadian charts, a great feat as an indie artist. She has spent her time as of late working with industry folk who have had success with hits of their own. A smart plan now that she’s reached that first big plateau herself. Her goal now is to chart top 10 and finally get the accolades she deserves for her songwriting talent. Recently, she he has been spending a lot of time in Nashville writing and recording her new music, and she is very excited to share it as soon as possible.

A few weeks ago she was back in Ottawa to play at the recent Ontario Country Music Awards, and I had the chance to talk to her about her new music and thoughts on the ever changing music industry.

Ottawa Life: Tell me your thoughts on the changes the industry has gone through over the past few years and the impact it’s had on your career.

Brea Lawrenson: I guess I’m just trying to survive like everyone else, making money is harder as an indie artist nowadays as the streaming platforms take away the physical album sale that we’ve relied on to keep us going.  Adding more shows to the calendar has been the main change to compensate for that. I still make CD’s but obviously times are changing and those wont be around much longer. I’m making sure my presence on digital platforms is huge, and I also treat my fans ,(The Brealievers fan club) like gold, creating real relationships with them and making them feel a part of this ride.

As a fan of Brea's , I can’t help but feel that something big is just around the corner for her. The new single will be out sometime this summer and she’s hoping it will hit radio this month. She made me a Brealiever a long time ago and I look forward to seeing her step into the big spotlight, which she so clearly deserves.

Keep yourself updated on everything Brea at www.brealawrenson.com.