Singer & Songwriter Jonathan Brenner

Madame Perry's Salon

Jonathan Brenner is an Atlanta-based singer-songwriter who defies easy classification. Described as “somewhere between New York and Nashville,” his music is a unique amalgam of genres, including pop, country, folk, Americana, and jazz. His musical influences include Hank Williams, Sr., Bob Dylan, The Beatles, Elton John, Billy Joel, James Taylor, Cole Porter, Tom Lehrer, and Antônio Carlos Jobim A wildly clever and often epic songwriter with romantic/heartbreaking storytelling, witty social commentary and the weaving of pointed musical fables at the core of his creativity, the Atlanta based musical enigma – currently riding a fresh wave of intoxicating eclecticism via his second album Instagram Success - is so wondrously all over the map that even his promoters have a hard time defining his artistry. Is he pop? His infectious, 70s-esque, jangly brassy, vocal harmony filled romp “Silly Little Habit” screams yep! Is he country? His country accent and plucky steel guitars on “Little Lost Lamb in Dixieland” seem to confirm this, but his hilarious jibes about Southern living make him more kin to the musical comedy aesthetic of chief influence Tom Lehrer. (So maybe that’s two genres in one?) Is Brenner folk/Americana? Yeah, and with a little bluesy keyboard and rock guitar twinge on the lyrical, easy to sing along with “Riding That Money Train” (which has some edgy social commentary and the acoustic driven irony laden “Jesus Loves the Poor,” which also has blues flavors and a snazzy jazzy trumpet solo. - Jonathan Widran, THE JW VIBE