When Cleveland musician Brian Bacon’s two daughters set off for college, he set off on his own journey to write and record his second album.
“I didn't want to, like, wait around and explore empty-nest life,” he said. “I already knew what I wanted to do, so I just used it as an opportunity to go ahead and make a bigger change.”
Holed up in a tiny rental home in Nashville, Bacon wrote himself a Post-it Note and stuck it to the corkboard. The note read: Whose voice is that?
His Post-it served as a reminder to tune out thoughts of doubt and lean into his music.
The result is the 10-track album “Murder of Crows,” a blend of ‘70s pop-rock arrangements and Bacon’s signature folk lyrics.
Finding his artistic vision and voice
Having already transitioned from playing in bands to solo performance, Bacon released a debut album of piano ballads and pop rock songs in 2022 that he described as a mixtape he was “too shy to deliver.”
The following year, he ventured down to Music City to continue writing. What emerged was a collection of musical stories about characters loosely inspired by his life.
“It started to emerge, like, this is almost like a picture book or a storybook about these characters from somewhere inside me, drawing on maybe people that I had known growing up or recent experiences that I had,” he said.
When he was done, he realized he had put together somewhat of a rock opera, told through the first-person perspective of 10 different characters.
“The first song on the album is called ‘Keep the Lights On Charlie,’ and it’s just this rant from a parent or guardian to a kid who has stayed in bed too long on a Saturday,” Bacon said.
"It was by myself there in that room in Nashville, preparing to make this album about fictional voices, that I finally heard my own voice clearly."Brian Bacon
As lighthearted as some songs may seem, Bacon said there’s always an element of tragedy lurking beneath the surface.
For instance, “Where Has Bruce Been?” is a good example of a “Midwestern gothic story.”
“A lot of it stems from real experiences — that’s a story about a family that went to our church when I was a little kid back in the early ‘80s. It was a farm family that a tragedy befell,” he said.
Isolating himself in his small home in Nashville gave him a sense of clarity and the ability to put himself in the mindset of the characters in his album.
“The gothic angle is just like this kind of sort of lonely struggle that's at the heart of a lot of Midwestern storytelling. That was the first time I was able to really isolate,” he said. “It was by myself there in that room in Nashville, preparing to make this album about fictional voices, that I finally heard my own voice clearly.”
This clarity helped Bacon confront his insecurities as an artist and move forward with confidence.
Connecting with other musicians
After writing the album’s 10 songs, Bacon connected with producer Nick Bullock, whom he met on Instagram.
Bacon linked up with a handful of professional studio musicians he also met on the Internet to complete the album’s orchestration, from Kristin Weber on violin to Greg Herndon on keys.
He put together a band of Cleveland musicians to tour the album in the fall of 2024, culminating in a sold-out release show in September.
Through the songwriting process for “Murder of Crows,” Bacon discovered he had more in common with the characters in his songs than he initially realized.
“They're all centered around these characters who, in some ways, are trapped — whether they know it or not,” he said.
His journey continues: Bacon already has 26 new songs written for his next album, inspired by a trip to the Blue Ridge Mountains.
“Even if it doesn't work, I'm going to make more records. Good luck stopping me,” Bacon said.
