TRAVERSE CITY -- Greg Brown's mother played electric guitar, his grandfather played banjo, and his father was a preacher in the Hacklebarney section of Iowa, where the gospel and music are a way of life.
Brown's first professional singing job came at age 18 in New York City, running hootenannies. He'll be performing at InsideOut Gallery Sunday.
Now he's a singer-songwriter with songs performed by Willie Nelson, Carlos Santana, Michael Johnson, Shawn Colvin and Mary Chapin Carpenter.
After his year in New York, Brown moved to Los Angeles, where he was a ghostwriter for Buck Ram, founder of the Platters. Tired of the fast-paced life, Brown traveled with a band for a few years, and even quit playing for a while before he moved back to Iowa and began writing songs and playing in Midwestern clubs and coffeehouses.
He has also recorded more than a dozen albums, including his 1986 release, "Songs of Innocence and of Experience," on which he set the poems of William Blake to music. His latest CD, "One Night," is a re-release of a 1983 live performance.
Brown will be joined by Bo Ramsey. Born and raised in the Mississippi River town of Burlington, Iowa, Ramsey has played guitar on nine of Brown's albums. He's also produced albums for several artists and toured with Lucinda Williams.
Tickets for Sunday's show are $25 in advance and $30 at the door for general admission; $60 for VIP; and $45 for reserved seating. Tickets are available at InsideOut, 229 Garland St., Borders Books, Oryana and Cuppa Joe, or online at www.insideoutgallery.com. Doors open at 6 p.m.; show starts at 7 p.m. For more information, call 929-3254 or go to www.insideoutgallery.com.
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