Brett Dennen

Less than a generation ago, radio was the place you were most likely to encounter new music. The world has moved on. These days the easiest way to hear the pick of the new crop is to sit down to a night of big-budget commercial TV.

Brett Dennen is one young talent who has benefited from the hungry soundtracks of shows including Grey's Anatomy, House, The Unit and Scrubs. The US singer-songwriter with the look of an overgrown schoolboy has a distinctive sweetly raspy, sincere sound. He caught the ear of fellow musos when he quietly released his first, self-titled album in 2004. His recent second album, So Much More, has been more widely appreciated, but the use of his songs on TV has given him his biggest push so far.

Missy Higgins' current inroads into the American market have been helped by Dennen, for whom she served as support act there; she subsequently went into the studio with him to make a guest appearance on two tracks from his upcoming album Hope for the Hopeless.

For his Spring '08 performances in Australia, it is Dennen taking a backseat. While he now has a very solid following at home, he is still little known here, so many of his dates see him serving as support act to Pete Murray. To get to know Dennen while he's still an up-and-comer, click here and listen to the single "Ain't No Reason" and other tracks.

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