About the Event
This September, FIM welcomes two local performers who have harnessed the power of social media and their connection to the Flint community to build their names in the local music scene.
Brandon Z. Smith began teaching himself guitar and writing songs at 15. Inspired by the DIY sensibility of punk rock, he formed his first band, Endorphin, shortly after. In less than a year, the band recorded two EPs, played dozens of shows (notably opening for Chad Smith of the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Detroit grunge band, Sponge) and broke up due to creative differences. Smith continued writing music solo, exploring a wide array of genres and adopting several different pseudonyms. He moved to Austin, Texas and performed as an electronic act before scrapping the project to focus on teaching himself the mandolin. He recorded his first folk album, Transient, with his friends backing him on bass and viola. He eventually moved back to Michigan and has since become a promising fixture in both Flint and Detroit’s music scenes.
Based right here in Flint, Fernando Silverio Solis has been making music since his teens, having started out on bass and steadily honing his skills with other instruments – gradually evolving into not only a musician, but as a true performer. Though his musical tastes vary widely, he says he grew up on outlaw country troubadours, like his father before him. And it’s those twangy, western elements of Americana that shine through in his latest music. Solis is a contradiction, a collection of mismatched and disparate items he’s picked up along the way. He’s an indie-rocker with a sensibility for catchy choruses and pop power chords, he’s a cowboy with punk sensibilities, he can belt out a riff, and then croon soft and sweet in the very next song. He maintains a deep appreciation for the cathartic and healing powers of folk, the grit and DIY mindset of post-punk hardcore, and the heavy heart of country. Recently and with the help of his friends, Solis has put together a new band: Fernando Silverio Solis Y El Sueño with John Guynn (guitar), Jacques Doucet (lap steel), Austin Conquest (bass) and Ryan Gregory (drums) to help expand the new sound. The music of Fernando Silverio. Solis y El Sueño is available on all streaming platforms and YouTube.
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