Brian Keith Wallen

That didn't take long. Brian began the process of teaching himself how to play, and within two days, he'd learned his first song. "It was just one of those things that I'd always wanted, more than anything. And I'd always heard that you can do anything you want to do, if you want to do it bad enough. So I didn't want to wait. I didn't want to get a teacher. I wanted to start playing right away!"

And that's exactly what Wallen did. He started performing in church within a few months, and he still remembers his first performance. "I was so nervous. My knees were shaking the whole time. I got up and played 'I'll Fly Away', 'Amazing Grace', and 'Will The Circle Be Unbroken'. I couldn't have picked a better place to go out and play for the first time, because the support I got at church was great. People really encouraged me to keep playing, and that stuck with me."

Within a few months, that first performance led to more opportunities, playing every week at his home church, and on Sunday nights at churches all around the area. "It was such great experience, getting to go out and play for all those people, and as I said, there isn't a better group of people to learn how to perform in front of", Brian says.

Soon, however, just performing wouldn't be enough. Brian was ready to take the next step. "I wrote my first song when I was 11. It was called 'Cardinal Sings, Redbird Flies'. It was very simple, three chords, not much to it. But people liked it, and that gave me confidence to keep writing, keep trying to develop that part of me". Brian was finding his own place in music, trying to develop a style, and then, something happened that would change the course of Brian's journey through music.

"My uncle had told me about a place in the local area where they were playing bluegrass. And up to that date, I was not a fan of that style at all. But, I went to the show, and I was absolutely amazed. The skill with which these guys played just blew me away, and I knew that I wanted to do exactly what they were doing. And then, they let me get up and play a couple songs with them, and I was sold".

For the next few years, Brian immersed himself in bluegrass music, learning to play the fiddle, mandolin, and banjo, all staples of the style, along the way. In the process, he also learned lessons about timing and technique that would stick with him. "There is so much you can learn in bluegrass. I learned how to play with other people in bluegrass. I learned how to become a much better musician, and I also learned a lot about being an entertainer, because that's such a big part of the genre too. If you can't put on a good show, people aren't going to be very interested in listening to you", says Wallen.

Brian put together his own band, Blue Lightning, and started performing around the area. But as big as this step forward was for Brian, it wasn't the biggest he would take.

"When I was 13 years old, my parents got me recording equipment for Christmas. And I was shocked. At that time, I didn't really know a lot about it. But I was certainly grateful to have the opportunity to learn about it. I made my first recording on Christmas day, and it was terrible. But it sounded so good to me, because I'd never done it before. Just to be able to hear myself, playing and singing, was something I had never experienced."

8 months later, Brian released his first CD, entitled "Homegrown". Brian says, "it had 13 songs on it, and it was all acoustic. It was such a valuable learning experience to make it, because I not only learned a lot, I improved as a musician by having to play all those tracks." After the first CD was completed, Brian kept recording, and gradually added equipment to his studio. Eventually he was able to get the tools necessary to duplicate and print his own CD's. By 2008, he had produced 5 CD's, and that was key to the next chapter in this story.

"I was on a family vacation in 2008. We were going down to Alabama to visit some family, and stopped just north of Nashville to spend the night. In the morning, my dad suggested, spur of the moment, that we could stop in Nashville and check out Broad Street, maybe visit the Ryman. Of course, I loved the idea. So, we went to several of the better known places in Nashville, and then we went to take a tour of the Ryman. Naturally, I wanted to take my guitar in so I could get my picture taken up on stage. After the tour finished, that's exactly what I did. Of course, I played while getting my picture taken. After I finished, a gentleman came up to me and starting talking to me. It turned out we had a lot in common, and I figured he was also another visitor. Then, he gave me his card and told me he was the manager of the Ryman museum, and asked if I would be interested in coming down to perform on the plaza for Bluegrass Nights at the Ryman. I didn't have to think too long about that one. Understandably, he needed to hear more first, so I provided him with some of my CD's, and after listening, he called me and scheduled me to come down in July."

Brian performed with his band, Blue Lightning, on the plaza at the Ryman on July 19th, 2008 for a large audience. About a dozen of Brian's fans made the trip down to see the show, and according to him, "it was just great. We all had a lot of fun that day, and getting to play there was a wonderful experience."

Upon returning to Indiana, Brian continued to perform throughout Indiana, both solo, and with his band until the end of 2008. Then, he decided it was time to make a change. "Like I said before, bluegrass is a great style of music, and a great learning tool. But for several years, I had been writing songs, and my rock roots were still a big part of me. I realized that I needed to make that my focus."

So, Brian stopped performing with his band. He began performing solo at all of his shows, and started recording albums with original material, and incorporating electric guitars and drums into his sound, beginning with "Hard Times", an album released in late 2008. This project marked a significant transition in the style of his music.

"Where I was at two years ago and where I'm at now are light years away from each other. I learned how to be a performer, how to be a musician, but I hadn't learned how to be an artist, and that is absolutely the most important thing."

All of these experiences have culminated in the 13th CD release from Brian KeithWallen, "The Way". Here's what Brian has to say about this project. "My goal all along has been to come up with a collection of songs that I really believe in. I wanted to be able to go out and perform every song on an album with passion. It's taken some time, but I'm finally there with this project. I have a real, personal connection with all of these songs, and they are all inspired by experiences I've had, or people I've met. The majority of them were written very recently. This is a new direction for me, and I'm looking forward to sharing it."

At 18 years old, Brian Keith Wallen may not be all the way there yet. But one thing is certain. He is getting closer all the time, and as he says in the title track of the new album, trying to "follow the Way".

Information About Brian

Born May 23, 1992
Started playing guitar at age 10
Plays 10 instruments
Has released 13 CD's
Has performed shows in five states, and at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville, TN
Performs both solo and with his band, Blue Lightning