Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett’s music is a mix of throbbing rock and roll energy combined with pop sensibilities, raw blues, classic rock, tight funk and grunge abandon. His live shows are famous for their high energy and his tremendous ability to engage a crowd and leave them breathless. “What I love about playing live is that people get to see you expressing your art in its purest form,” he states emphatically. “It's a freeing experience and it's an incredible feeling when the crowd is feeding off your energy and vice versa. It’s really one of the best things on the planet for me.” He cites sharing the bill with Chris Isaak, Johnny Lang and playing in front of 600 peers at his high school as some of his most profound live experiences so far.
Nolan started playing guitar at 8, wrote his first song at age 9 inspired by a Dr. Seuss story, performed live professionally at age nine in front of 200 people playing the first song he learned, “Folsom Prison Blues” and at 16, performed a full...
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Tacoma’s Nolan Garrett’s music is a mix of throbbing rock and roll energy combined with pop sensibilities, raw blues, classic rock, tight funk and grunge abandon. His live shows are famous for their high energy and his tremendous ability to engage a crowd and leave them breathless. “What I love about playing live is that people get to see you expressing your art in its purest form,” he states emphatically. “It's a freeing experience and it's an incredible feeling when the crowd is feeding off your energy and vice versa. It’s really one of the best things on the planet for me.” He cites sharing the bill with Chris Isaak, Johnny Lang and playing in front of 600 peers at his high school as some of his most profound live experiences so far.
Nolan started playing guitar at 8, wrote his first song at age 9 inspired by a Dr. Seuss story, performed live professionally at age nine in front of 200 people playing the first song he learned, “Folsom Prison Blues” and at 16, performed a full set of music opening for Chris Isaak. Between 9 and 16, the now 17 year-old high school senior played every possible show he could, mastering his live performance, writing songs well beyond his years, releasing his first CD, all the while maintaining a successful balance of school and music.
Brick Lanes, his 2nd CD is released on London Tone Music, is a collection of ten songs of inspired songwriting and top notch musicianship. All of his past influences are well represented (Hendrix, Stevie Ray, Alice in Chains and John Mayer, The Beatles and The Black Keys), but Garrett loves to spend time discovering new artists who inspire him, saying “ I’ve been listening to the Alabama Shakes, Mutemath, Allen Stone and tons of hip-hop lately, adding,”. Kendrick Lamar is a big influence on me. I think his lyrics are just incredible,” adding, “I love incorporating these new influences into my music. “
For Brick Lanes, Nolan found a producer/engineer closer to home. Geoff Ott of the iconic London Bridge Studios recorded a single with Nolan for London Tone Music’s label launch, 52x52-A Year in Your Ear, an ambitious project releasing 52 new songs by 52 new and emerging artists once a week for 52 weeks. The track, Step Back (included on Brick Lanes) was chosen and he and Geoff began their work together. Nolan enjoyed the experience so much that when it came time to produce a full CD, it was an easy decision to keep this solid producer/artist relationship going.
To say the future is quite promising for Nolan is an understatement. He’s lucky to have found his passion at an early age, he has two full CDs of music under his belt, a powerful live performance, a terrific band, a growing legion of fans and, most importantly, a very supportive family who understand his career and how passionate he is about music. “There are so many opportunities I wouldn’t have had, if not for the support of my parents and grandfather. I feel very lucky,” Nolan says with great gratitude.
Nolan is looking ahead to a time when High School is behind him and he can devote full-time to his music, saying, “I love playing music and I’d love to become well-known and rich,” he laughs, “but I truly don’t see myself spending my life any other way. I plan to take it all the way to the top.”
