The 2020 release of “Roots, Rhymes, & Branches” was indeed a milestone for Brant, as it brought to fruition a lifetime of musicality fused with his solid commitment to the environment and social causes. Thirteen masterfully crafted original songs span over 30 years of Brant’s songwriting and personal journeys, displaying his diverse roots music influences. Recently retired from a three-decade career in Forestry and Wildlife Conservation, Brant’s love of nature and his work as a forester have had a strong influence on his life view, as evident from his songwriting. 

Brant grew up in the musically-fertile village of Croton-on-Hudson, New York, where he was steeped in the folk music traditions of fellow Hudson River Valley residents Pete Seeger and Don McClean, whom he met and even got to jam with while crewing on the sloop Clearwater. Folk music icon Lee Hays was a friend and neighbor. With these role models in activism and topical song crafting, Brant started writing his own folk songs in his teens.

Throughout Brant’s career, starting with his first Forestry job with the Peace Corps in Honduras, performing and songwriting were always an important part of his personal life. During his three years working in Alaska, he became a fixture in the folk music scene and performed at three consecutive Alaska Folk Festivals. He moved to Nashville to pursue his musical dreams, pitching his songs on Music Row and getting several cuts before returning to his forestry work.

Brant was first-prize winner at the prestigious Chris Austin Songwriting Contest at MerleFest for “The Roadkill Bill,” and has been a top-three finalist there eight times. He was a finalist in the Folk/Americana/Roots category of the 2022 International Acoustic Music Awards for "No Interest in That." He’s performed twice in the songwriter showcase at the International Bluegrass Music Association’s annual conference. His songs have been recorded by country, folk, and bluegrass artists in the U.S. and Europe, including a #2 bluegrass hit, “Fast as I Can Crawl'” and “Somewhere Under the Rainbow", which went Platinum in Denmark.

His first solo CD, “Music River- Original Whitewater Songs and River Ballads,” has become popular with paddlers around the world, and had songs featured on the soundtrack of the award-winning 2016 New Zealand film, “Rivering.”

In addition to performing solo, Brant is a member of the acoustic Americana trio, 2nd Nature, with whom he’s performed twice at the Ryman Auditorium, as well as MerleFest and many other venues. They released their second CD, “2nd Nature – Ridin’ Lonesome,” in 2018.

Brant and his wife Patricia live with their three cats near Nashville, Tennessee on five acres with over 300 trees they planted.