Photos: Brenn! proves he’s more than Amateur At Best on the Truman stage

May 8, 2026

Eli Ralls, Eleanor Leslie,

Brenn!. // photo by Eli Ralls

Brenn!
with Hudson Ingram
The Truman
Wednesday, May 6

Touring in preparation for his first studio album, Amateur At Best, releasing next month, Brenn! took the stage of The Truman on Wednesday, May 6, for a night of country soul on The Warm Up tour, hidden from the lights of the city.

I was not beforehand familiar with much of Brenn!’s work (country has never been my favorite genre) and I never found the time to indulge in the up-and-coming artist’s work, but despite my biases, all I knew fell away the moment Brenn! started to playfully strum the intro to “Looking For,” a single from 2024, on his guitar. The instrumentals instantly grabbed my attention–the subtle twang of the acoustic guitar rang loudly throughout the venue, and his voice softened the blow.

Brenn!’s gentle tone and musical talent come from years of firsthand knowledge producing his own music, most notably when he started his solo career in 2022. He quickly found success after signing with Westward Recordings that same year, and released “4runner,” which now has amassed over 125 million streams on Spotify.

Brenn! continued through his nostalgic setlist, letting the heartfelt lyrics land on the crowd, stopping only for short breaks to tenderly tune his guitar, and let out a short, “meow,” much to the amusement of the crowd, and myself.

The next song, and his first ever EP, “Upstate,” was a welcome upbeat tonal shift, garnering more energy from the crowd, who belted out his introspective lyrics. Brenn! elaborated that the title does not refer to a particular location, but instead the fact that “Everything is ‘up’ from Alabama,” his home state.

Draped in the blue stage light, Brenn! continued to play further into the setlist, serenading the audience with southern soul pieces, “brand new car” and “rearview,” all more popular songs on his discography. In a pleasant surprise, Brenn! performed the unreleased title track for his upcoming album “Amateur At Best,” which he described as his personal experience with creating music.

“I produced it myself and wrote it with a couple buddies of mine,” he continued, “It’s pretty amateur.”

He finished his set with his most popular–and my personal favorite–song, “4runner,” an unplugged indie-pop hit carried by the cathartic lyricism and simple instrumental overtones.

All photos by Eli Ralls

Brenn!

Brenn! setlist
Looking For
Footing
jesus song (county line)
Water
Upstate
brand new car
Rearview
Somehow Made It Out
iwbtotsy
Amatuer At Best
Revival
Days On End
Franklin House
4runner

Hudson Ingram