Colin Bracewell, a 21-year-old local indie pop musician, performed for a sold-out audience at 7th Street Entry Saturday and teased a new single slated for release later this week. The artist juggles being a full-time student at the University of Minnesota and writing, recording and producing his own music on the side.
His studies reflect this split, as Bracewell is double-majoring in marketing at the Carlson School of Management, though he “doesn’t like to lead with that,” and vocal performance in the University’s School of Music. Bracewell released his debut EP “Valley” last summer, and his most recent single, “Slopes,” came out in April.
Though born in Windsor, Ontario and raised mostly in Fresno, California, Bracewell spent his teen years in Stillwater, Minnesota, where he began to nurture his musical inclinations as a theater kid, violinist, saxophonist and even a backup instrumentalist in a classic rock cover band.
Like many homemade, Upper-Midwestern artists of Bracewell’s generation, he draws inspiration from the likes of Justin Vernon and John Mayer, though his music holds a raw and unabashed post-Frank Ocean R&B quality.
His instrumentation sets Bracewell apart from other singer-songwriters of the same genre, often adding gentle synths, a killer trumpet solo or a moody saxophone riff to bring a jazzier feel that offsets lyrics of heartbreak (or amplifies them, depending on the listener).
At his third performance at 7th Street Entry and second sold out show as a headliner in the venue, Bracewell and most of the band sported matching mullets and coordinated utility jumpsuits.
Their day was jam packed, starting with an outdoor show at Franconia Sculpture Park outside of the city and ending in a sold out venue for a hometown show post-tour, but according to Bracewell, any of the day’s chaos would at least be offset by their matching outfits.
The past few months have been similarly topsy-turvy. “I haven’t even watched a new ‘Stranger Things’ recently, just because I’ve been so busy,” Bracewell said. In typical Minnesota boy fashion, Bracewell is a “big fish guy” and has plans to spend his upcoming break up north in the Boundary Waters.
Bracewell’s career trajectory can be measured by his shows at the Entry. He first performed there as an opener for fellow Ontario-upstart Billy Raffoul on March 10, 2020, just days before the University lengthened spring break and eventually entered full lockdown. Bracewell worked to find a silver lining amid the global collapse by making himself available and preparing for the inevitable post-pandemic return to live shows.
“A bunch of shows got canceled and everything, so when they started putting on shows again, I was like, ‘Heyyy…I’d love to,’ and so I got my first headlining show here last summer,” Bracewell said.
Smaller venues were the norm for Bracewell pre-pandemic, but he doesn’t mind the intimacy of being vulnerable in front of like-minded folks. “I’d rather play to 15 people that know my music than like 75 people that are just there,” he added.
Tonight, though, Bracewell would greet a crowd of just under 300 in the Entry’s sold out hall and announce the upcoming release of a new single, “Making Me Crazy,” that details the painful end of a relationship.
“I literally had to send it to my now ex-girlfriend saying, ‘Yo, is it okay that I say this?’” Bracewell said of the song, adding that he just wanted to make sure he wasn’t giving too much away.
“I’m just not gonna write in a diary. You know, that’s not really my thing,” Bracewell said of his confessional songwriting.
If Bracewell was nervous for the night’s performance, he didn’t show it in the slightest. In the hours leading up to the big show, he bounded in and out of the venue with a smile, greeting friends and family and posing for photos before settling down into a timeworn leather couch in the venue’s dimly lit basement, the surrounding walls covered with event posters and signatures from other artists who have passed through.
Radiating joy, the show kicked off with performances from openers Aiden Intro and Ivers, two other local indie acts with seemingly endless energy and stellar sound. Along with Bracewell, the two openers announced they would be donating the night’s profits to the National Network of Abortion Funds and Fuck Bans Immediate Impact Fund in an Instagram post earlier in the week.
Bracewell and the band made a capital “E” entrance next, moseying onto the stage oozing cool in mismatched sunglasses — Bracewell’s were heart-shaped — as their mullets glistened under intense spotlights.
They began with a fiery performance of “Slopes,” a punchy melody that the crowd warmed up to immediately, clapping and swaying along. Many in attendance sang along with shocking precision, clearly devoted to the young act from their hometown. Even those unfamiliar with Bracewell couldn’t help moving with each new enrapturing tune.
Musician Brooke Elizabeth sang supporting vocals throughout, offering lilting, airy harmonies to complement Bracewell’s deeply soulful voice. The two even performed “Nashville,” an unreleased song they co-wrote in a dorm.
As the night progressed, they moved through his setlist with ease, looking entirely at home on the venue’s cozy stage. Funky covers (“Just the Two of Us” and “More than a Woman”) intermingled with Bracewell’s own work, keeping a celebratory air throughout the performance.
Bracewell ended the night with the forthcoming “Making Me Crazy,” and many in the audience impassionedly sang along, somehow already knowing the words, to the band’s delight. He wrote the song two weeks before the show and performed it there for the first time.
“How the fuck do you already know that?” he said between verses, beaming.
