YOUR AD HERE »

Singer/songwriter/skier Brett Dennen makes his Vilar Performing Arts Center debut Friday

Singer/songwriter Brett Dennen makes his Vilar Performing Arts Center debut Friday night.
Special to the Daily |

If You Go ...

What: Singer-songwriter Brett Dennen

When: 7:30 p.m. Friday, Jan. 20.

Where: Vilar Performing Arts Center, 68 Avondale Lane, Beaver Creek.

Cost: $38.

More information: Call the VPAC box office at 970-845-8497, or buy tickets online at http://www.vilarpac.org.

Brett Dennen is relaxed, laid back and a gifted singer-songwriter and performer.

And he’s hilarious.

And an avid skier.



“Skiing. That’s the point of this whole tour,” he said.

When we caught up with him he was in Boulder about to do the show in the People’s Republic, which is nice. But there’s no skiing in Boulder.

Support Local Journalism



He grew up in Northern California’s Central Valley, with mountains all around and great places to ski, so he did. A lot.

He’ll ski Vail and Beaver Creek while he’s here. He was in Sun Valley a couple of weeks ago, and he’s headed to Aspen for more singing, playing and skiing after today’s show at the Vilar Center.

Singing, playing, skiing his days away. Life is pretty good if you’re Brett Dennen

“I always say I’m a singer-songwriter and hopefully people will think of someone they like,” he said.

Think of the singer-songwriter movement of the 1960s and ’70s, and Dennen fits like a glove.

“I try to live in that world,” Dennen said.

You’ll hear a less moody and more upbeat Paul Simon, a little Arlo Guthrie for the stories and on-stage unpredictability, some of Joni Mitchell’s intricate guitar work and soul, maybe some Jack Johnson and a little Kris Kristofferson for the lyrical twists.

Dennen said at today’s Vilar Center show you could expect some entertaining stories and music you want to hear. It’s a solo acoustic show, so he can do about anything people want.

“I usually go up there with an idea about how it’s going to go. But I also take requests and play about anything the audience wants to hear,” he said.

He said he writes when he feels like he needs to write.

“I try not to do it too often because it dredges up all my insecurities,” he said, laughing.

So far, he said he has not felt the need to write a song about the incoming Trump administration, even though his show at the Vilar Center is on Trump’s inauguration day.

Today is his Vilar Center debut, showcasing his latest album, “Por Favor,” but he’ll play about any request you want to hear. He has been touring and recording for more than a decade. He has six albums and lots of material.

Dennen started writing songs as a kid.

“I was a guitar-player kid who jammed with my friends,” Dennen said. “I started writing songs, then playing in restaurants and coffee shops and working my way around the country.”

He laughs when he’s told that his music is categorized as “folk-pop.” Rolling Stone named him a “Folk-Pop Artist to Watch,” which makes the magazine sound a little like a stalker of singer-songwriters. On the other hand, Rolling Stone also described him as someone whose music “urges maturing rock fans to turn up their radios and stay forever young.”

“Folk-pop? What is that? Is that like selling real estate? Folk with pop adjacent? You’re living in town but it feels like country?” he said, laughing.

Staff Writer Randy Wyrick can be reached at 970-748-2935 and rwyrick@vaildaily.com.


Support Local Journalism