Nathaniel Austin Brown[1] (born November 22, 1985) is an American singer-songwriter and record producer.
Early life
Brown was born in
Tarzana, California, on November 22, 1985, to Nathaniel Brown and
Rebbie Jackson. He is a member of the
Jackson family and only son of singer Rebbie Jackson and her late husband Nathaniel Brown. He has two older sisters, Stacee and Yashi.
On February 14, 2012, Brown released the music video for "Menage A Trois" on
Vevo,
Music Choice,
Centric,
106 & Park, and
MTVU.[2] Outside of the U.S., "Menage A Trois" had plays in Italy, Japan, Netherlands, and UK Radio. In the UK, "Menage A Trois" reached Number 1 for 3 weeks on UK's Bang Radio 103.6 FM.[3]
In mid-2012 Brown started a residency at The Central performing with his band in LA, with additional shows in
Las Vegas,
Boston, and New York City. During this time Austin Brown performed at
CSU East Bay's 'Springfest' with
Miguel and
Lupe Fiasco.[4][5][6] He also had televised appearances on
FOX's "
Good Day New York,"
CNN, and the
Pandora stage at
SXSW.[7] This is also when Brown joined the BET "Music Matters" program, performing on their stages in both Los Angeles and NYC.[8][9]
On December 21, 2012,
Idolator premiered "Highway to the Sky."[10]Highway 85 was then picked up by Global 14, Idolator, Centric, Rap-Up, Singers Room, Ryan Seacrest's AXS Live,
Huffington Post, and
USA Today.[11][12][13] Soon after, "Menage A Trois," "City of Angels," and "Highway to the Sky" were added to the
KCRW Los Angeles radio rotation. Brown later performed at KCRW's School Night Concert Series at Bardot in Hollywood and a Pop-Up Shop KIISS 102.7 event with his band, followed up by additional performances throughout the year.[14]
In 2013, Highway 85 was officially released through
iTunes.[15][16][17] During this time Austin Brown was featured in
Vogue Italia and
Vman fashion magazines.[18][19][20] In June 2013, Brown continued performing live and in July he performed at the L.A. Live BET "Music Matters Experience" with
Marsha Ambrosius, as well as live at the
BET Awards 2013.[21] His
Pepsi "Music Matters" commercial aired the same day.
In January 2014, Austin performed at the
Sundance Film Festival in Salt Lake City, Utah, for Hollywood TV.[22][23] Soon after, a demo-version of "Smile" was put into rotation on KCRW by DJ
Chris Douridas.
In 2015, Austin Brown played with
The Roots during their annual Grammy Jam.[24][25]
2016 – 2017
Austin Brown debuted his Guitar & Microphone series to sold-out audiences in
Paris, France at the
Theatre de la Contrescarpe [
fr] in the summer of 2016. While traveling in Boston, he gave seminars at
Berklee College of Music and
Boston Arts Academy on Songwriting.[26] During this time, Austin paired up with DJ
Tony Touch to form CaliYork releasing "Show Up At My Place" in September 2016.[27] He continued his live performances through 2017 with residencies at The Sayers Club (with his band The Blvck Castles) and
Hotel Café (Guitar & Microphone series).[28] He also performed at the "Live @
Sunset Marquis Concert Series" in Hollywood and acoustically at
Rockwood Music Hall in NYC.[29][30][31]
In August, Austin was featured on
Revolt TV's Revolt Sessions performing an acoustic set[33] and then performed at the SELECT Pre-
Emmy Party at the Peppermint Club in September.[34][35]
In October 2017 Austin released his acoustic "Canyon Sessions" EP, available on Spotify and iTunes.[36][37][38]
2018
Austin is credited as a Writer and Producer on
Ashlee + Evan, the debut EP from the married, musical duo
Ashlee Simpson and
Evan Ross (aka
Ashlee + Evan). He co-wrote and co-produced "I Do," "Paris," "Tonic," and "I Want You." Austin Brown makes cameos in
E!'s reality television series,
Ashlee + Evan, which documents the making of the EP.[citation needed]
Writer, Producer, and Musician on
Macy Gray's album
Ruby. Austin Brown is credited as a Writer of "Witness," Drums and Guitar for "When it Ends," and Musician, Vocals (Background) on "Cold World." Other musical credits on Ruby include Composer, Keyboards, Synthesizer, and Xylophone.[citation needed]
Other charitable causes Austin has worked with include Red Eye, A Place Called Home, Children's Hospital of Los Angeles, Friend Movement Campaign, and After-School All-Stars.[40][41][42][43][44][45]