WHO IS MOONRISE BLUE?

My name is Brian A. Thompson, and I'm a music addict.  

As a young child, I spent many an hour playing with my mom's record player, becoming intimately acquainted with the sounds of REO Speedwagon, Air Supply, and The Osmonds (fostering an eclectic taste in music early).  As I grew, I'd rarely travel without my Walkman, or later in life, CD player or mp3 player.  It took many years into adulthood before I realized that nothing was stopping me from picking up a guitar and learning how to strum a few chords, so that's what I did.  I spent a few years with some buddies forming a garage rock band where I learned some of the ins and outs, but when that dissolved, I ended up on my own - which brings me to here.  

Moonrise Blue is my acoustic project - a chance to work out a handful of original songs while cultivating a variety of covers from various influences throughout my life.  Some are straightforward, and some I've shaped and redefined in my own style.  I hope you enjoy them as much as I enjoy being up on stage and playing them!

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While I have a few songs up on YouTube and plan to someday sit down and record an album, live shows are my bread and butter.  Over the past few years, I've gotten out to perform wherever I can in the southern Minnesota / northern Iowa area, from Rochester's Cafe Steam to Albert Lea and Austin's Farmers Markets, at open mics in Clear Lake and Minneapolis, breweries, wineries, coffee shops, and many places in between.