Garrett Borns

Just twenty years old, indie-pop singer-songwriter Garrett Borns is already carving himself a place in the industry. Forming a band with multi-endorsed, internationally recognized drummer Scott Pellegrom, guitarist Kevin Kozel, and highly talented bassist Tom Thomas, Borns signed on with Rezidual Records in 2011 and hit the road. The group’s collection of talent and charm enlisted a flurry of press attention, plus ever-mounting booking opportunities and careful attention from the leaders of the industry at the national level.

Real accolades mounting quickly in just his first year on the scene: Borns was chosen to be the featured performer at a TEDx Grand Rapids event, and then he headlined the opening of 2011 Grand Rapids Art Prize, one of the largest art competitions in the nation.

This is truly an artist that hasn’t wasted any time launching his career: taking on the piano at six, Garrett’s commitment to his art has cultivated an unstoppable, multi-talented musical cocktail of kitsch and groove, all wrapped up in his smooth, vibrant vocals and a chameleon-like command of piano, ukulele, guitar, drums, vibraphone and accordion. And through all of this “he has borrowed wisely, as all keen musicians do—George Harrison’s peaceful energy, Billy Joel’s eye for detail—the kid has done his homework.” – Andrew Watson, Recoil Magazine

Garrett has begun to captivate hundreds of crowds throughout Michigan, Canada and France, thanks in part to a singularly Garrett Borns’ genre, his own poppy, light-hearted nod to something new. It’s his youthful hubris and impossible talent that lend a heady magic to his performances, consistently wowing crowds of all ages with a mastery and charm that defy his years. Show after show, entranced by his songwriting wiles and a haunting, honey-ginger voice, brand new fans sway happily in unison to his effervescent creations.

Youthfully nostalgic, Garrett wears his region proudly, waxing poetic on the beauty of his homeland and the lives that huddle there: the Michigan lakeshore, the place that sprouted and sustained him. His love is artistry, always expressed through the lens of a heart that refuses to get too heavy, insistently peering through the darkness to find beauty in the most unlikely places. This happy devotion is what ultimately makes Garrett Borns so special, rapidly covering him in a kind of awe-inducing halo that only a star can wear.