How this 31-year-old chased a music career that landed her on the Seed20 stage
When Brit Drozda performs, the rest of the world falls away. Well, not completely. Rather, her lyrics give away her multifaceted life of motherhood, marriage and her embrace of the community.
The Freedom-Park-area resident was practically born with an instrument in her hands; her musical style has ranged from the self-described “Killers meets No Doubt” to music written for her children.
She is not a stranger to hard work: Drozda recorded her first songs in the studio at age 17 and her first album at 21. Now, at 31, her music video for her song “In Reverie” released today. You can watch it here.
“What I’ve been coming up with lately feels very authentic and me,” she said.
Her energy seems to inspire everywhere she goes: Social Venture Partners commissioned Drozda to write and perform a song on the SEED20 stage at the Knight Theater, piano included, called “Sunrise.” She’s played at CreativeMornings/Charlotte. She performs at monthly candlelit yoga classes hosted by Fit Atelier. She played at an event at Summit Coffee in Davidson for moms with life-threatening illnesses.
Drozda wasn’t born in Charlotte, but after spending time in various places, including North Palm Beach, Fla., Westchester, NY, and Greenwich, Conn. Drozda attended Davidson College, where she met her now husband. The couple lived in Chapel Hill for a couple of years, but Charlotte was calling: Drozda was thrilled when her husband’s work brought them back to the Queen City.
“I’ve grown roots here; I’ve always believed in this place,” she said.
Drozda toured with her brother some, and she also dabbled in culinary arts while on a musical hiatus, earning an associates degree from Johnson & Wales. She created her own business, “The Kitchen Bee,” teaching people to eat healthy and how to cook for themselves.
But music was always calling.
After her son was born, Drozda knew she had to follow her heart with regards to her career.
“It was obvious to me that if I was going to do anything in addition to being a stay-at-home mom, it had to make sense and it had to fill me up,” she said.
She got a gig playing at Rhino Market one night, where the audience consisted mostly of her friends. She sang her song, “Let Me Hang The Moon,” inspired by her desire to preserve early moments of parenthood.
“I was struggling,” she said.
She describes a particularly tough day of parenting her son, which involved a lot of meltdowns. “When he was taking his nap, I sat there and I was like, ‘Everyone says how sad it is when they grow up and how quick it happens’.
“And I was sad that I was wishing that day away. I wrote that song as a reminder, something that can bring me back to seeing that he looks *at me* like I’m just a superhero, like he thinks I have all the answers.”
There was an emotional reaction from the fathers in the audience that night, Drozda said. “When I see somebody emote, I feel like they’re taking away what I really intended out of the song, that it really reached them.”
That was her motivation and impetus to keep going, she said. She knew she needed to get back into the studio. She’s recorded songs about her son and daughter, about the musical process itself, about the messages she will one day leave behind.
Through it all, Drozda said she seeks and finds balance with her husband, who is in commercial real estate, and her children, now ages 4 and 2.
“You see Pink on the road with her kids,” she said. “You see a lot of different actresses that are moms. That gives me hope to try to keep doing it.”
The entire recording process is done locally. Drozda has worked with producers Jason Scavone and Charles Holloman, recording studio Sioux Sioux Studio, mastering studio Studio B Mastering, videographer Timm Young: Untitled Works and photographers Richard Israel and Anna Naphtali.
“There’s so much creative talent in Charlotte; it’s refreshing,” she said. “It makes me really happy. I can stay here and be successful — I don’t have to go to Nashville or somewhere else; I can pursue this and enjoy it here.”
Listen
Find her music here.
See her perform
Visulite Theatre: 8 p.m. June 1 with Jason Scavone; $10 in advance and $12 at the door
Resident Culture: 6:30 p.m. June 26 Candlelight Yoga with Live Music
Featured photo by Melissa Oyler
This story was originally published May 24, 2018 at 11:00 PM with the headline "How this 31-year-old chased a music career that landed her on the Seed20 stage."