Featured Artist Friday: Brandon James

In this week’s Featured Artist Friday we take a look at Chicago R&B/Soul singer Brandon James. Brandon was born and raised in Chicago and began performing live in 2010. “My love for music and how it inspired me really got me wanting this as a career,” said Brandon. “I love how music heals and I want to be apart of that! My mood, life, watching and observing others, and sometimes just plain old imagination and story telling are all things that influence my writing process.” Brandon’s love for music began in elementary school. Music originally served as Brandon’s outlet to deal with depression and it wasn’t until age 12 that he felt he realized his potential as a musician. Brandon began to join various school sponsored music programs to help him stay focused and stay out of trouble. Following high school graduation, Brandon attended Columbia College of Chicago in 2009 to further develop his abilities. His music career has allowed for Brandon to learn from some of the greats. Prior to attending Columbia he was given the opportunity to have lessons with renowned Chicago Jazz artist Bobby Wilsyn, as well as former Ars Musica director Andrew Schultze. Brandon was also able to perform with the legendary R&B group, Earth, Wind & Fire in his first year attending Columbia. “I eventually want to go on a world tour,” said Brandon. “My goal as a musician is that I want to reach as many people as possible with my music and I want to make a good living off what I love to do!” in 2015, Brandon began working with EPR, an indie label distributor, in order to To date, Brandon has released two EP’s. His first release, titled “The Soul Sessions,” came in 2016 and was distributed by Ditto Music. His second EP was titled “The Divine Collection” and was released earlier this year. Brandon also performed with Bubba Sparxxx earlier this year to wrap up a successful regional tour as well as his two year promotional campaign of “The Soul sessions.“ Currently, Brandon is working on releasing a new single and also has an upcoming EP. His next show will be Sunday, November 12th at Reggie’s Music Joint in Chicago. Be sure to join his mailing list on branddo20music.com to stay up to date with all of Brandon’s upcoming projects. Next week’s featured artist will be Chicago band Burly Gates. Burly Gates was formed by Josh Pelletier, a director here at ODMG. If you haven’t already, be sure to check out Whiskey Point Sessions over on our YouTube Channel and to follow our Facebook page and Instagram for more content.

Brandon James posing in front of the Chicago skyline. Photo provided by Brandon James.

Brandon and his accompanying band following the filming of their Whiskey Point Sessions. photo taken by Lucas Lopresti.

Brandon James and two members of his accompanying band pose in front of a painting during the filming of their Whiskey Point Sessions. photo taken by Lucas Lopresti.