Dan Bremnes is an amazing artist. I've loved his music for years. In 2015, he released his debut album Where The Light Is. And, since then, he's grown so much as an artist. His style is mainly pop, but he's released some worship songs as well.
Two years ago, Dan traveled the world with former Hawk Nelson lead singer Jon Steingard and photographer Jamie Out to film the music video for his hit song "Wherever I Go." I talked with Dan about this experience, as well as his new acoustic record.
Tell us your story. How did you get started in music?
Like a lot of people, I started in church. One of my first memories of music was going to church and seeing people play music on stage. I thought, "That would be the dream if I could do that." So, I started playing drums when I was 12, I did the whole garage band thing and played in some punk bands, and I played in church.
When I was 18, I played for a few touring artists. Then after that, I traveled around North America and Europe for about three years. Later, I started to write my own music. I had a few people encourage me and I thought, "Why not?" I had a big dream of becoming a music artist. It started a long journey with many little steps. Now, here we are.
It's crazy to think that the music video for "Wherever I Go" came out two years ago already. What was it like filming that?
That was definitely some of the most fun I've ever had. It was a real adventure. It all came together when I was on tour with my friend, Jon Steingard, who used to be the lead singer of Hawk Nelson. He was doing some video stuff at the time, so I said, "I want to make a music video. Do you want to do it for me?" Then we came up with this crazy idea of going around the world. We had a short amount of time to do it because both of our wives were pregnant. We wanted to be smart with our time. But, we pulled it off. It was so much fun. It was basically my bucket list of travel places. It was a dream come true.
Do you have any plans to do a trip like that again?
Well, that's a good question. There's still a bunch of places that I haven't been to. I don't know if I would do a trip exactly like that, with that many places in a short amount of time. I might try to enjoy it a little more.
You filmed a documentary while you traveled the world for the "Wherever I Go" music video. You shared that video with your fans while on tour before quarantine happened. Are there any plans to release that?
The tour was canceled because of COVID-19. But, before it was canceled, I was screening the documentary on that tour every night. The plan was to release it after the tour. So, everything got delayed. But, the short answer is, "Yes, we will definitely release it."
You recently released your acoustic album, Wherever I Go (Acoustic Sessions). What was the inspiration behind that project?
I was really proud of my last album, Wherever I Go. I didn't feel like the story for that album was done. I love touring with just me and my guitar. A lot of the songs on Wherever I Go were written by me and my guitar. So, doing an acoustic album seemed like the logical next step.
My future tour will be just me and my guitar. I've really missed that style of playing. There's something honest and organic about it. I'm really happy with the way the acoustic record turned out. It sounds really great.
There's a lot of different artists featured on your new album. How did those collaborations come about?
The people featured on the album are my friends. We either have seen each other or have met each other in the music industry. Since most of us live in Nashville, it was really quick and easy to make these collaborations happen.
What does the rest of 2020 look like for you? Do you have any new music coming out?
There's nothing new yet beyond this acoustic album. But, I'll be working on new music, while I'm on tour this fall.
Finally, how can we be praying for you?
Just pray for wisdom and patience to take life day by day. I think all of us need that right now.
Grace Chaves is a fan of all things Christian music, and is one of NRT's youngest writers. She's homeschooled, and loves concerts, Jesus, and songwriting.
NEW!BEHIND THE SONG
#1263 - Hannah Kerr
The artist shares the story behind her powerful anthem of grace
ADVERTISEMENT
NEW!THE ESSENTIALS
Big Daddy Weave
NRT's Kevin Davis dives into some of the band's essential songs
NEW!STAFF VOICES
Mental Health Music
The NRT team shares songs that shed light on the struggle
NEW!AN NRT WAYBACK EDITORIAL
10 Classic "Rain" Songs
10 classic Christian hits that use rain imagery in their lyrics
NEW!NRT EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW
Sean Rodriguez
His journey from family pastor to chart-topping musician
