From a duo act to individual solo projects, Nashville-based Theo & Brenna MacMillan are exploring many avenues to get their music heard. With the brother-sister progressive bluegrass act Theo & Brenna Band, they’ve recorded two records and honed in on what it takes to work together after growing up together. Even though they each approach their original co-writing of songs in a different way, there’s a definite overlap in how they see things.
“We’re siblings, so we have a lot of the same influences and ideas,” Brenna MacMillan said.
Plus, they’re both singers, songwriters and multi-instrumentalists. Her brother – Theo MacMillan – said he sees being siblings as “totally an advantage.”
“We grew up singing together,” he said, adding that they were also in the same band while at Berea College in Kentucky.
Their second album, “Dreams for Sale,” released in 2022, included a song about their creative process.
“It’s a song we wrote together about writing songs,” Brenna said. “We both have different approaches to writing that we talk about in the song.”
For example, Brenna’s inspiration comes from the deep, atmospheric spaces of dreamscapes.
“Sometimes I’ll just dream a song or dream a melody,” she explained. “I’d say 70 or 80 percent of our songs come from dreams.” She said the rest of her inspiration comes from nature or “ethereal reflections.”
Her brother takes a different approach, and they’ve learned to combine Brenna’s dreamlike methods with Theo’s more grounded approach to creating.
“I generally write more from real life experience…and from reading and thinking about ideas,” Theo said.
While performing as the Theo & Brenna Band has been a great learning experience, they’re both excited to move away from that as a priority and explore their solo careers instead.
“We still play occasionally, we play private gigs and have a couple of shows coming up in Nashville,” Theo said.
He has released several bluegrass singles as a solo act, but his big new thing will be a rock project. He said it’s still in production but is shaping up to have an “adult contemporary or pop rock” orientation.
“I also write a lot for other bluegrass artists,” Theo said. “I do a lot of bluegrass writing, not just my own stuff.”
Gigging frequently and having opened for the likes of J.D. Crowe and Bobby Osborne, Brenna is staying put in her genre; there are no rock projects on her near horizon. She’s solidly immersed in the world of American roots music. “What’s to Come” – the initial single from her first solo record – has already been released, and another is coming soon. The single features guest contributions by Ronnie McCoury on mandolin, Frank Evans of the Slocan Ramblers on clawhammer banjo, Jake Stargel with guitar, Mike Bub supplying the bass, and Maddie Denton playing fiddle.
“I would say it’s bluegrass/old time/folk/Americana,” she said of the full upcoming record, explaining that part of the album will be straight-up bluegrass. In contrast, other parts have a more inclusive Americana vibe that expands the instruments to include piano, sax and drums. She said 10 of the 11 tracks on the record are originals. The whole album is slated to drop in October.
For more information on upcoming tour dates, record releases and more, follow Theo & Brenna on Facebook at Facebook.com/bentlineproductions or visit their website at Bentlineproductions.com.
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