Brian (58) from Strabane is a Musician-Singer/ Songwriter.
He always had music in the house growing up so it followed on naturally that he would get the bug.
What genre / style do you create in?
A mixture of rock, folk, and Americana
What would you be best known for?
Having opened for numerous performers both nationally and internationally.
What would you consider your biggest achievement?
Musically, a decent review in the Sunday Times culture section for “Tales from Home” album and personally my wife and four children
What would you consider to be the biggest lesson you’ve learned in your industry?
It’s a school of hard knocks but never give up.
What has been your biggest challenge to date?
Corona lockdown with no live gigs!!
Tell us a little about your personal life, are you married, kids, hobbies etc?
Married, retired after 27 years as a fire-fighter, 4 children, music, reading, and outdoors.
Tell us about your most recent work?
Currently working on new material to be arranged and produced by Frank Gallagher (Katie Melua, Mary Black, Mary Chapin Carpenter) thanks to the The NI Arts Council but have released material during lockdown, one digital single monthly for July, Aug, Sept and Oct.
All upbeat feel-good tracks.
What would you like us to tell people about?
Check out my Facebook page or https://brianhassan.hearnow.com/ for soundbites or www.brianhassan.com
If you had to describe your work to someone who has never heard of you what would you say?
Melodic and poetic.
What’s the funniest experience you’ve had in your business?
Watching a well-established artist using a smoke machine to hide the fact he was smoking something other than nicotine on stage in a major NI venue.
What would your advice be to young people hoping to pursue the same industry?
Expect knockbacks, have faith and belief in yourself, and enjoy every minute of the journey. It won’t be easy but it can be very rewarding.
Anything else you want to tell people about yourself or your work?
All tracks are available on the usual digital platforms including I-tunes and amazon music. All songs are original self-written material.
Who do you look up to and why?
Anybody who gets up on stage irrespective of whatever musical genre as it takes a special person to put themselves in the spotlight and also in the firing line.