Jay Brannan

Hailing from Texas, Jay Brannan works as a singer, songwriter, and actor whose ethereal vocals and acoustic folk leanings might suggest an ordinary modern troubadour, yet his artistic inclinations align more closely with rule-defying female performers such as Ani DeFranco, Lisa Loeb, Sinéad O'Connor, and Liz Phair, at moments recalling a male counterpart to Joni Mitchell. He portrayed Seth in John Cameron Mitchell's 2006 feature Shortbus, where his composition "Soda Shop" received prominent placement on the soundtrack. That same year he issued a limited-edition four-song EP titled disasterpiece (also catalogued as Unmastered) that spotlighted "Soda Shop"; two further tracks were added for the 2008 reissue of disasterpiece. Still in 2008 he delivered his first full-length album, Goddamned. Brannan resurfaced in 2012 with Rob Me Blind, which contained the single "Greatest Hits." Drawing from experiences gathered during live tours, he assembled an ambitious collection of international covers performed in six languages titled Around the World in 80 Jays and released it in 2013. The next year brought Always, Then & Now, a set composed entirely of original acoustic material.