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Brian Ernst Music

WOW! THAT WAS AMAZING!!!

8/19/2026

I always wanted a band, but most of my career was spent living in a bus, on tour, with my wife. So, there just wasn’t space. Most of my career was spent moving, like, 1000-1500 miles/week, 39 countries, 50 states, so there just wasn’t time.

And, I’ve spent my whole career making a full time living off my songs, that I wrote, and trying to support a family doing it. Choosing a path like that means the resources just weren’t there to put (and keep) a band together. So, I committed to going solo. And, I’m proud of that.

It’s hard to describe what it feels like being carried by a group of artists who I trust, admire and respect so much - so I just want to extend my deepest of gratitude.

And thank you again to everyone who came out on Sunday night. Make sure you give all these guys a follow: Gilberto '77, Chambers Waller, Johnston Brothers, and Tigre Island Room.

Video coming soon…
: Michael R Ritter

BACK IN USA!

8/15/2026

What a great first show! Thank you so much to everyone who came out. One thing I love about coming back to USA (after an extended overseas trip) is I come back hungrier than normal. Music is medicine for me. It's cathartic. Healing. All those things. I'm really excited for the upcoming bacd show! See you soon!

GUATEMALA | PART 1

8/9/2026

Six weeks. No shows. All family.
Six weeks of slowing down, writing, exploring new places, returning to old favorites, practicing Spanish, riding out earthquakes and volcanoes, drinking great coffee, and being a family.
I’m getting ready to head back to USA for a run of shows, while the girls stay here in Guatemala.
This year has been the most I’ve toured without my family. It’s hard, but it’s a sacrifice worth making bc this is a year about aligning with our values. We’re putting life first in the “life-work” balance.

Katie’s philosophy this year became our motto as a family: “Life is for living.”
We had to get creative. We took some risks, spread our wings, and jumped.
We’re no strangers to the ole’ leap of faith. It’s still scary as hell - we’ve just learned to trust the leap a little more.

Wanishi (thank you) to the amazing women who have kept Katie’s business going while we’ve been gone. Wanishi to every person and every retail shop that continues to support her artisanship. You’ve helped make this chapter possible.

And for me…
I just had a six-week set break.

Six weeks to breathe.
Six weeks to be a dad and a husband.
Six weeks to focus on making memories with my family instead of drowning in the overhead that demands I focus on making a living.

We’re making a life. For our daughter. And you know what I love about doing this? It always makes me hungry to get back onstage and make music to share with all of you again.
I’m ready.

Even though I wish I could just stay down here with the girls, my business is about connection.
Connecting the head and the heart with the soul, and some rock n’ roll. I’ve got some exciting things to share with y’all later this year. All in good time.

Life is for living.
See you on the road.
Brian

APP STATE UNIVERSITY CONCERT ANNOUNCEMENT

8/3/2026

BOGATA, COLOMBIA | COUNTRY #39

7/27/2026

Today’s world school assignment: art, color, culture, espanol, geography, history, new food, and making family memories. Gracias, Colombia

BAND SHOW ANNOUNCEMENT

7/26/2026

I’m coming back to USA next month for a special show at Tigre Island Room. I’m ditching the looping pedal and performing with my friends Gilberto '77. I’ve only done a handful of shows as a band, and I couldn’t be more excited to jam with these guys. The Johnston Brothers will be opening the show.

RSVP: Brian Ernst Band f. Gilberto ‘77 - Live at Tigre Island Room

Gilberto77.com
BrianErnstMusic.com
Spotify | Apple Music | Instagram
Poster design: Three Feathers Collab

after hours session | infinite hills productions

7/23/2026

BANOS | ECUADOR

7/18/2026

Children are born with wonder. Artists spend their lives trying not to lose it. Travel disrupts routine. I think we gradually stop noticing the world around us because we (especially as westerners) desire efficiency (myself included). Travel temporarily turns that filter off. And I think artists need exactly that.

I’ve been staring at the Andes for the last couple weeks. Part of me just sees “a mountain” but the artist in me asks “why does this mountain make me feel so small?” The traveler in me asks “why does this village exist here?” And the student in me wonders “what do these people know that I don’t?”
Wonder begins with curiosity. Curiosity becomes observation. Observation becomes story and story becomes art.

If there’s one thing world travels have taught me, it’s that there are other ways to be human. There are many paths.

Travel exercises one’s openness to new experience and tolerance for ambiguity. When you travel (especially overseas) you don’t know what’s around the corner. You don’t understand every conversation. Things are out of your control and a lot of times there’s nothing you can do about it. Instead of resisting uncertainty, or being uncomfortable, you learn to dance with it. That’s also the creative process.

I feel like artists have to make a choice. Do we create from memory... or from discovery?
Or both? Wonder keeps discovery alive. That’s probably why so many writers deliberately walk and so many photographers wander without destinations. That’s probably why so many musicians tour. Movement changes perspective. Perspective changes art.

One reason childhood feels so long is bc everything is new. Novelty stretches our perception of time. Routine compresses it. Travel creates more “firsts.” Like maybe it was the first time you saw what real poverty looks like. The first time you had to sit with your own thoughts bc there’s no wifi. First time trying to have a convo, or order food, or buy a bus/train ticket in a foreign language. Maybe it was the first time you were a minority, or a foreign national. First time feeling welcomed and respected on foreign soil. Artists chase firsts bc firsts create emotion and emotion creates memorable art.

Most people can’t go any/everywhere.
Artists can. And then they return carrying stories. Songwriters carry melodies. Filmmakers bring home landscapes. The painter brings home colors, and shapes. The writer brings home perspective. Artists become the bridges between worlds.

One person can stand before a waterfall and say “nice waterfall.” Another can stand there for hours. Maybe later they write a song that causes someone else to buy a plane ticket… who then falls in love…. Who then changes careers…. because someone chose to pay attention. Wonder ripples outward, and art is one of the vehicles that carries it.

Thank you for reading my morning musings, and thank you to everyone who has supported our art, and our travels over the years.

TL;DR
Travel, and make art.

ECUADOR | COUNTRY #38

7/9/2026

Our daughter is 7 years old, and she still wants to spend every minute with us.
We know that won’t last forever.

Travel is our classroom. Geography isn’t just something she reads about - it’s something she experiences. History has faces. Languages have voices. Different cultures become friends instead of unknown distant strangers. The world isn’t something to fear - it’s something to understand.

We’re cultivating a worldview by showing her the world. This is her 5th continent, and her 11th country.

Years from now, I doubt she’ll remember every toy she ever owned. But I hope she’ll remember hiking through cloud forests, wandering ancient streets, hearing new languages, watching sunsets in places she once only saw on a map, and knowing that home wasn’t a place - it was being together.

The world is a remarkable teacher. And I’m grateful we get to learn from Her as a family while our little girl still wants us by her side.

Gracias, Ecuador.

15 YEARS AGO TODAY

7/2/2026