A LITTLE BIT ABOUT BARRY…

Barry Brant grew up in the small mountain town of Cumberland, Maryland — a quiet place nestled along the border of West Virginia where his earliest performances unfolded on school stages, in a church choir and praise band, and in hometown talent shows. Barry has an extensive history with music, from learning violin in elementary school, dabbling in guitar as a child, and ultimately finding a passion with piano and electronic music production, Barry has never backed down from a creative challenge, and has always found a sense of purpose and identity in the arts.

Barry began piano lessons when he was in 11th grade. With the original intention of becoming classically trained in piano, and learning the skill of reading sheet music, Barry would attend private piano lessons every week after spending countless hours trying to study musical theory. After a few sessions, his piano teacher noticed something he didn’t initially recognize. Although it was almost impossible for Barry to learn to read the sheet music, he could listen and watch his teacher play something, and then after a few attempts he could memorize the movements of the piece, playing from muscle memory, spatial awareness, and audio. From that moment on, his training took a different route, while he continued to try and study sheet music, he also spent most of his lessons learning chord shapes and structures, and how to translate guitar chords to the piano. Just a few months after beginning his piano lessons, he performed “Skyfall” by Adele at his spring recital by memory. After another year of training and lessons, he found himself performing three pieces at his senior recital- Phantom of The Opera, Claire De Lune, and Writings on the Wall (Sam Smith - James Bond Theme). After his senior recital, he aged out of the private lessons and continued developing and mastering his unique approach to piano independently.

While music and theater were always part of his world, it wasn’t until college that songwriting became something deeper — a kind of lifeline. After a diagnosis of Bipolar Disorder turned his world upside down, writing songs became a way for him to process, survive, and understand what he was going through. He’d originally enrolled to study theater and business, but the challenges he faced led him to shift course and pursue psychology instead, driven by a desire to support others dealing with their own mental health struggles. Since then, Barry has walked a dual path: working in crisis mental health care while crafting music that’s as emotionally charged as it is genre-fluid.

In early 2025, Barry returned to his roots in Western Maryland. The months that followed were marked by insomnia and deep rooted anxiety for the future- but also by the quiet act of creation. In the midst of it all, he began writing again. The result was a collection of songs so personal they felt like torn pages from a journal. One track, “Maladaptive Daydreaming,” would become the seed for what grew into Everything’s Coming Up Roses — an ambitious, emotionally layered concept album that traces a journey through heartbreak, mental illness, identity, and ultimately, renewal. Blending elements of folk, country, pop, indie-rock, and musical theater, the album stands as a portrait of an artist transforming pain into something with pulse and power.

Now performing under the name Barry Brant, he has stepped into a new chapter — not just creatively, but personally. He continues to work in the mental health field, now back in his hometown, while devoting his days to music. That balance reflects the heart of his work: the belief that storytelling, especially through song, can heal.