Listen
Listen to Brian's new album, Healing Bridges, out now!
Available on iTunes, Spotify, Amazon and more!
About
Brian Koenigsknecht is the rare kind of artist that writes and sings with intimate, unabashed sweetness and stirring emotional depth.
-Tim Kolleth Director of Radio Promotion- Alligator Records
See Brian Live
Check out upcoming events to see a live performance, or visit the Brian Koenigsknecht YouTube channel.
Healing Bridges Review
Let's ask two questions: What does music truly mean to you, in your life? And when's the last time you had a good cry? We mean that really good type of cry, the cathartic cry, the one that makes you feel more alive, once the tears are dried... And when it comes to the value we place upon the music we listen to, the music we make, the music we share, it can equate to the same kind of holistic invigoration that a good cry brings... A singer/songwriter like Brian Koenigsknecht is offering a shift of focus--to take our regard of music to a deeper level, where it's recognized as a bonding agent, a ceremony of the love that enriches our relationship, an expression of enduring memories. That's what you'll find on the radiant and very personal new album from the Kalamazoo-based songwriter: Healing Bridges.
We are all missing the affinity and amity of being in the company of a good friend--but with this spare batch of acoustic ballads, the poignant, richly-raspy melodies of Koenigsknecht will elicit a similar sense of instantaneous familiarity and relatability. Often delivered in a slow, swaying cadence, these heart-on-the-sleeve odes are potent enough to make any listener stop in their tracks, block out the noise and stress of the world, and just listen--listen deeply, listen sincerely. Because these songs are revelatory in a very vulnerable way...
Koenigsknecht recently lost his father. Which brings us back to music. Music was integral to their relationship. It might be overwhelming any of us who cry-easily, but the instrument you hear resonating throughout these eight songs is the very same 1976 Guild D-50 that Koenigsknecht's father utilized, decades ago, to teach a 9-year-old version of our songwriter how to play the guitar. With this album, Koenigsknecht demonstrates how music can genuinely be a portal, not even to the past, but also to beyond the veil--a means of sustaining connections to people, but also places, that influence us, shape us, and retain profound significance forever in our hearts and memories.
If we haven't gotten the point across quite yet--these songs are simultaneously heavy and burden-lifting at the same time! Yes, there is a lot of emotion coated onto the words as well as the instrumental performances, but the intent, the destination, is healing! At points, you feel like you're almost sitting over the shoulder of the singer, looking at sepia-toned scrapbooks and photo galleries. But that's what this album proves--that music can be so intimate as to be transcendent. To bond with a voice and a musician that you may not have met yet, but to understand his journey, and apply the sentiments to your own struggles. The destination, once again, is toward healing.
Jeff Milo-Current Magazine