Faces of Milwaukee: Bryan Cherry
- Eli
- Dec 31, 2021
- 2 min read
Although most people likely know the subject of today's portrait, Bryan Cherry, as a musician and frontman, he is perhaps better described as a poet who sings his works. Cherry grew up on the North Side of Milwaukee and began to write early, inspired by the poems his mother, also a writer, would leave around the house. He attended Menomonee Falls High School, and then Carroll University. He entered originally as a journalism major, but quickly switched to political science in which he eventually obtained his degree. It was also at Carroll that he felt a sudden pull towards music that would shift his trajectory from writer to bard.
Prior to his arrival at Carroll, his exposure to live music had been limited, but upon hearing the Beatles classic "Blackbird" performed by his roommate on guitar, something about the magic of that melody and this lyrics sparked a fire within him. He felt immediately compelled to learn "Blackbird" on guitar, but it also drove him to stick with it and work to become a skilled guitar player and vocalist over the next few years. He earned a lead role in the Carroll production of Hair, which gave him experience performing in front of a live audience and the opportunity to work with a vocal coach to perfect his craft.
Since his "awakening" at Carroll, he has established himself as a premier musician both as a solo artist and with numerous local bands including The Bryan Cherry Band and more recently, the Mythic Mystics. He has released 3 albums, Be Just Fine (2006), Now You Know (2007), and Until the Rainbows (2019). He has also written and published two volumes of poetry, which for a long time was a private passion but now has become another major creative avenue for him. As he describes in an interview with Carroll earlier this year:
I did not show my poetry to many people until about four years ago. From there I’ve been able to read at places like the New York City Poetry Festival, The Jazz Estate and Woodland Pattern here in Milwaukee.
Although the pandemic has slowed opportunities for live performance, Cherry has embraced his role as a stay-at-home dad to two young children, finding time to create when the kids are asleep or otherwise occupied as so many working parents have had to do. This hasn't stopped him from continued success, as he won the 2021 Wisconsin Area Music Industry (WAMI) award for best R&B/Soul Artist. He continues to write and produce poetry and music, and we hope to see him back on stage in 2022!
Here is a track from his 2019 album entitled "Got Me Lifted"
Comments