HONORS
Alumni
Solo act Brendan Abernathy tried and failed to fit music into his career options. And then he decided making music was his only option. By Stephanie Schupska
B
rendan Abernathy (BA ’19) has just finished loading sound equipment into his already overstuffed car. It’s early October, and the Honors alumnus is driving somewhere in Texas, on his way to play a house show in Fort Worth, one of nine stops on his Texas momentum-building tour. He ended October with a Sofar Sounds show on Halloween and two house shows on St. Simons Island, where he mixed music with Georgia-Florida Weekend energy. Brendan barely had enough time to shout “Go Dawgs!” before heading into November and playing more house shows, a service event, a wedding rehearsal dinner, and his first headline show at the 40 Watt Club. Brendan is feeling a mixture of “living on the road is amazing” and “the music industry is exhausting.” The singer-songwriter and performing artist graduated from UGA in May with Highest Honors and his bachelor’s degree in economics. He stayed in Athens for the summer, continuing his job at the UGA Visitors Center and building momentum for a solo career he launched in April. He then slowly started traveling west in September. “I have a group of friends who are supporting me as a musician,” he said. “I’ve been going from friend to friend, staying on their couches, and playing intimate house shows for 20-40 people.” Brendan’s hope is to build buzz around his music. Peppered among the list of living room appearances, he’s also had two sold-out performances at the Georgia Theatre Rooftop. He pulls a following from his days as lead singer of the rock band Light Brigade, which was founded in a UGA dorm room in January 2016 and played its last show this past February at the Georgia Theatre. “In my music career, I’m ahead of where I should be,” he said. “I have good traction, a good following.” It took many failed attempts for him to reach this point. In his four years in Athens, Brendan changed his major eight Brendan Abernathy times and studied abroad five times, exploring 13 countries in “The Rat Race” the process. In trying to figure out his future, he interned at a hospital, looked into a corporate job in consulting, and applied for the Fulbright U.S. Student Program. “As I thought about each next step, each opportunity, what excited me about them was how I could use music in each of them,” he said. When he decided to pursue music full time, he shared his plans with the assistant directors of the Honors Program—Jessica Hunt and Maria de Rocher. Maria helped him with his Fulbright application, and Jessica “was my sage,” Brendan said. “She is a
“I don’t wanna stand idly by and watch someone else live my dream... I want it to be me.”
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UGA HONORS PROGRAM MAGAZINE FALL 2019
