Don Brown feels like quitting music every day, but it just keeps pulling him back.
Since the 1980s, Brown has been singing his heart out to audiences in the Fredericksburg region with a unique blend of jazzy rhythm and blues and funk.
A native of Fredericksburg raised on lower Charles Street, Brown’s entrance into the world of music began as many in the past have — singing in the church choir. In addition to Sunday morning chorals, he latched on to music such as Funkadelic, Marvin Gaye and The Gap Band and would try to imitate their various styles.
He said his first solo came during his kindergarten graduation. Later, he joined Shades of Soul, an experimental theater organization for area youth founded by 1960s Clarence Todd. It later became Harambe 360º a chartered, nonprofit corporation in November 1973. Brown performed at Mary Washington College in productions of “The Madwoman of Chaillot” and “Guys and Dolls”.
Local musician Don Brown at Riverby Bookstore in downtown Fredericksburg. Photo by Jeff Kearney.
After graduating from James Monroe High School in 1975, Brown left town to live and work in Washington, D.C. But after 10 years — and a run of bad luck that included a jail term for marijuana possession — he decided to return home.
He said that period of his life was both a formative experience and proof of a different type of justice in the United States.
“Some for the poor, some for the rich, and I got caught up in that circle,” he said.
Back home, Brown was approached by local drummer Toby Fairchild to sing lead vocals for his jazz band. It was through Fairchild that Brown started consistently getting booked for shows in Fredericksburg. However, Fairchild’s other projects led to the suggestion that Brown form his own group.
Don Brown’s Spiritual Jazz was the beginning of his professional music career; later incarnations included the Don Brown Soul Experience and the Don Brown Jazz Explosion.
When he wasn’t performing, Brown worked at Picker’s Supply, drove an ambulance, and currently works with the local unhoused population through Micah Ecumenical Ministries.
The singer said that his musical calling is to uplift his audience and get them to sing along. Brown sees this in a similar light to being a spiritual leader, another nod to his upbringing in the church. He continues to attend services at Shiloh Baptist Church (new site).
To him, if his singing doesn’t get the audience moving, then he didn’t do his job.
Putting a six-piece band on a stage is getting harder though, he said. Most venues in the region can accommodate smaller groups but not a multi-instrument group like Brown’s.
These days, the shows that Brown and his current group, The Don Brown Project, do get, come from the City of Fredericksburg, where they play at the Central Rappahannock Regional Library or the Fredericksburg Area Museum.
Brown said that his band is the only one left in town that offers a fusion of funk and R&B.
“Fredericksburg isn’t like it used to be,” he said. “Years ago, we had six rooms to play in town, since then, that’s changed and we’re down to about one or two rooms.”
He began to notice the contraction in the last 10 years and attributes it to a lack of places that are open to live music. Most places, he said, would rather hire DJs for events rather than a full band.
But Brown is holding out hope for the scene’s revival. He thinks that if venues were willing to bring in more live music, it could bring back a vibrant Fredericksburg scene for all genres of music.
If people want live music in town, then they have to demand it, he said.
“Every time I get out there, I feel like it’s my last show,” he said. “I want to quit, but they keep calling me back.”
