We recently connected with Brandon Hudspeth and have shared our conversation below.

Brandon, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today What’s the backstory behind how you came up with the idea for your business?

I came up with the musical groups “Levee Town” and “Hudspeth & Taylor” with the idea of making original music that gives some sort of stylistic nod to the artists who came before us, specifically American Roots music that came in the first half of the 20th century . I’ve always preferred the simpler approach to recording and performing and I have always believed that art styles come and go like the path of a circle. I believe that in a very complicated time the world needs some simplicity. My goal was never to imitate or copy but rather to reinterpret using some, but limited, modern tools. By taking this approach I believe that the resulting product comes out sounding unique therefore attracting an audience.

Brandon, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do?

My love of music started when I was 5 years old while one day witnessing Johnny Cash play guitar and sing on Sesame Street. Thankfully my parents recognized that spark and very soon signed me up for guitar lessons. When I was 15 I started playing in a band and started playing gigs around Oklahoma college towns. After high school I soon moved to Kansas City to play the Blues full time. Luckily I met the right folks and I soon found myself playing with all the great Blues musicians in town. After being basically a “on call” guitar player for several years I put together a band called the Cobalt Project which soon turned into Levee Town. Levee Town has recorded 9 albums, toured relentlessly all over the US and Canada, opened for and backed many of my heroes, represented Kansas City in the International Blues Competition twice, has been nominated for several International awards, and has been together now for 20 years. Several years back I started the duo “Hudspeth & Taylor” with local legend, singer and percussionist Jaisson Taylor. We specialize in acoustic Roots and Blues music. Our current album “Ridin the Blinds” has maintained a #1 charting positing on the Roots Music Report for 9 weeks and has been nominated for Acoustic Blues album of the Year by Blues Blast Magazine. I have also been nominated by Blues Blast Magazine for Acoustic Guitar Player of the Year.

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Let’s talk about resilience next – do you have a story you can share with us?

The music business is basically designed in a way that constantly beats down the musician. That being said, lots of people give up early on which weeds out some of the competition making a path for a few musicians to make a living doing what they love. From experience I know you definitely have to love what you are doing in order to be willing to learn how to deal with some of the negative things that can come with being a musician. I’ve been a full time musician now for 30 years and I’m still learning how to be stronger.

What do you think helped you build your reputation within your market?

I’ve always wanted to be a musician and thankfully for me from what I can tell, attitude is the most important thing in my field. Always wanting to be where you are when you are there is a must. A good attitude will make it so you work hard, you aren’t late, you show integrity, and you are kind.

Contact Info:

• Website: brandonhudspeth.com, leveetown.com
• Instagram: @leveeworker
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/brandon.hudspeth.5 https://www.facebook.com/HudspethandTaylor https://www.facebook.com/LeveeTownBand
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZHet1JIVlc_WbgGAyqUI1A https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCIu8POyAklgYFz_gm0maYMA/featured

Image Credits
Black Moon Media and Mick Larson