We recently connected with Brooke McGrady and have shared our conversation below.

Brooke , thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Can you share a story about the kindest thing someone has done for you and why it mattered so much or was so meaningful to you?

Music is a tough business and finding genuine support, people who see your vision, and those who are in it for the love of the music isn’t easy. I have been very fortunate to have been led to the right people at the right time who believe in me and my mission. Without their help I wouldn’t have been able to accomplish the things I’ve been able to accomplish. I am forever grateful for all of the support that has been shown to me throughout my journey.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Brooke McGrady and I’m a singer-songwriter. I was born in West Virginia but grew up in small town Virginia. I thought I was geared for a faster pace so for many years I went as fast as I could while abusing drugs and alcohol to deal with bouts of anxiety and depression. In the fall of 2013, after many years of going down a path of complete destruction and hitting rock bottom, the time had come for me to do something different because what I had been doing wasn’t working. During my darkest moments while going through this process, I was led to turn on the music. I began listening to the music that had been the soundtrack to my life while growing up in small town rural America. It was the music of Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, George Jones, Tammy Wynette, etc., but most importantly the music of Waylon Jennings that I would listen to in those dark hours. For some reason it seemed to reach right into my soul, and it would help me to make it through another day. I was so moved by this music that I decided that I needed to learn how to put my story to song so that it could be used to reach someone else the way their music had reached me. I had no idea how I was going to do this. The only thing I had was a cheap guitar and a journal I’d been keeping documenting my experience. I had never played the guitar, I didn’t sing in public, and I knew nothing about the music industry. But something inside kept telling me to keep going and I knew if I kept moving forward that I would accomplish my goal. I just started where I was- I taught myself a few chords and started singing along to the music. Over time, I learned how to start putting words and rhymes to melodies and eventually how to write my own songs of sin and redemption through hope and faith.

In 2014, through a strange series of events, I met and started working with some of Waylon Jennings old friends and band mates including Grammy Award winning producer Barny Robertson. In 2015 we went into the studio, and they helped me to finish up and record my first album- Band of Renegades, Volume One. That same year I founded GenRev Music. GenRev Music is a grassroots movement and a growing platform for the independent artist that wants to be heard. My main goal for GenRev was and is to give back to the music community by offering other singers, songwriter’s, musicians, and independent artists unique opportunities to share their song. One of those opportunities has been through the Band of Renegades EP volume series. This was set up so that we could collaborate with different artists, singers, songwriters, and musicians as we record additional volumes. Band Of Renegades, Volume Two was recorded and released in 2018 and in collaboration with some very talented artist including Waymore’s Outlaws, Tommy Townsend, Carter’s Cord, Tom McClure, and Carter and Barny Robertson. Volume Three is currently under way and the first single “Back Home Living” will be released this summer. Other opportunities that have come through the GenRev platform include guitar pulls, songwriters circles, home concerts, co-writing and recording songs with other folks who have a story to tell, and bringing original music to charitable organizations, events, and festivals. In 2022 GenRev teamed up with the Tennessee Songwriters Association International to start and lead a chapter of TSAI for the songwriters in the central and southwest areas of Virginia. This chapter was started to give songwriters in these areas of Virginia a connection to Nashville.

Music is a very powerful thing. It can uplift, encourage, and bring hope and healing. I know this because I live it. A future plan for GenRev is to take the music out to those who can’t get to the music by going mobile and putting together a tour. It’s important to me to share stories through song to those who need to hear a message of hope and there is no music more powerful than when the message is truth, and it comes from the heart. It’s the music that’s written from real life experience.

You can download or stream Band of Renegades- Volumes One and Two on all digital platforms. The first single for Volume Three will be released this summer. You can also follow my journey on Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram.

Thank you, Canvas Rebel, for this opportunity to share my story.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

My goal has always been to share my experiences, trials, and tribulations through song while also building and offering a platform for others who are trying to do the same thing. Like-minded people who are in it for the love of the music. My mission moving forward is to get the music to those who may not be able to attend a concert or event. Those in rehabs, hospitals, prisons, nursing homes, etc.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

For me, the most rewarding aspect of being a singer-songwriter is planting a seed of hope through a song. What gives my life meaning is knowing that what I’ve been through and able to overcome is bringing hope to someone else. I’ve learned that this is what life is all about.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.genrevmusic.com
• Instagram: brooke.mcgrady
• Facebook: GenRev Music
• Twitter: GenRev Music
• Youtube: GenRev Music

Image Credits
Jillian Hamp Photography