Country-pop artist Brandon Chase jams out at The Lookout

UW-Eau Claire students sang and danced along to the performance Friday night

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Photo by Sydney Purpora

Brandon Chase, contestant on “The Voice”, came to Eau Claire to showcase his country-pop music

Rising country-pop singer-songwriter Brandon Chase serenaded the crowd at The Lookout Friday night.

Born in Arlington, Texas, the artist’s life has been nothing short of a miracle. At only a few days old, Chase stopped breathing 64 times within 12 hours. Doctors told his parents he could be deaf, blind, mentally handicapped or a combination of all three.

Proving the doctors wrong, Chase went on with no complications in his childhood. He continued on, graduated high school at age 15 and completed his master’s degree in songwriting from Berklee College of Music two years later.

Chase started writing his own music when he was14 and taught himself to play the piano and guitar. He got his big break on season five of NBC’s “The Voice” as a member of Blake Shelton’s team.

During the Friday night show at UW-Eau Claire, the guitarist and vocalist sang lead with some backup singing from his electric guitarist David Le. The performance consisted of Chase singing a mix of his own songs and covers of popular artists, including Nick Jonas, Luke Bryan and Tim McGraw.

His written work so far focuses on his life experiences of love, heartbreak and summer nights.

The Lookout’s Advertising Manager Courtney Brockman said Chase was selected to come to Eau Claire to bring more country music to the area.

“We don’t really have a lot of country musicians come to Eau Claire,” Brockman said, “so we thought it would be interesting to have him perform.”

By the end of the night, over 140 people packed themselves into The Lookout to dance and sing along with the show. Chase said the audience and venue made a great ending to his long week of performing.

“This show was like a breath of fresh air,” Chase said.

The band got the audience involved in their music by encouraging them to sing into the microphone, taking Snapchat videos during the performance and asking everyone to grab a partner to dance the two-step during his slow songs.

Audience member Taylor Tremain said she enjoyed the show because he made the crowd an important part of it.

“I always enjoy a performer that engages their audience versus just making it all about them,” Tremain said.

Chase ended his show with a cover of Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise.” After the concert, Chase and his band members got to know the crowd by taking photographs with fans and selling their merchandise.

Getting his musical inspiration from a mix of Keith Urban and John Mayer, Chase said his goal for his career is to make it as far as he can in the music industry and have fun doing it.

“I just want to get as big as God wants me to get,” Chase said. “It is just what I love to do so I will do it whether I am playing for ten people or ten thousand.”

Brandon Chase’s music is currently available on Spotify, iTunes and YouTube.