After years of working as a sideman, Brad Phillips realized it’s time to be front and center.
The Dexter, Michigan, singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist is focusing more on his own material and live shows.
“I’m at this point where I’m looking back at the whole road that I’ve traveled; I’ve done a lot of stuff, and I’m grateful for it,” Phillips said. “It’s exciting to think about what comes next, and instead of waiting for who’s going to call me next, I’m calling me. And so, I’m trying to be intentional about just doing that on purpose.”
Phillips spent four days this summer revisiting his musical purpose in the woods by writing and practicing music. Playing a variety of different instruments—acoustic guitar, mandolin, and violin, to name a few—helped him feel reconnected to it.
“I brought my little recording rig and creative-vomited for four days, and I got back to basics and practiced my scales and my etudes,” he said. “It was like: ‘Oh yeah, this is a part of who I am, and it always has been.’”
Before taking his musical retreat, Phillips had been touring on and off with actress and singer Patti LuPone for the last two to three years. He also collaborated with LuPone on her 2024 album, A Life in Notes.
“That’s been the primary thing, all while trying to understand what inspires me musically as an individual and as the musician Brad under my own name,” Phillips said. “My whole thing over the last 20-25 years has been: ‘How can I best serve other people’s visions?’ And of course, that is essentially a side man, which I love, and I will always love.”
While he enjoys collaborating and performing with a roster of Michigan musicians, including May Erlewine, Joshua Davis, Chris DuPont, Rachael Davis, and Jeff Daniels, he’s begun releasing his own material.
Americana-folk songs like “How Sweet the Sound” and “Dance Again” demonstrate the musical depth and breadth he brings as a singer-songwriter.
“I’ve gone through a lot in the last decade—a lot of transition, a lot of change—and all of it has brought me closer to living more truthfully, more authentically, which then allows for the creativity to flow a little more organically,” said Phillips, who’s a lecturer at the University of Michigan’s School of Music, Theatre & Dance.
I recently spoke with Phillips about his career ahead of a November 6 show at Rancho Tranquilico in Dexter.
