Brett and Brad Warren play arena tours with superstars, have their songs recorded by some of the biggest acts in the business and have made a dent as producers -- but most fans recognize these two brothers from their not-so-famous role in the cult classic CMT reality series, Barely Famous.
Brett and Brad arrived in Nashville in 1995 from their hometown of Tampa, Florida. Brad, two years the elder, holds down the band’s rocking side with his distinct lead guitar style and background vocals while Brett delivers each song with his country-blues infused voice, harmonica and rhythm guitar.
Their progressive sound piqued the interest of Faith Hill in 1999 leading to Hill and McGraw picking the Warrens for the coveted opening slot on their Soul2Soul tour in 2000. They've since appeared on McGraw’s tours as well as the award winning 2005 Brooks & Dunn “Deuces Wild” Tour, Martina McBride's 2006 "Timeless" Tour, McGraw & Hill's Soul2Soul Tour 2007 and most recently on the Live Your Voice tour in 2008 with Tim McGraw and The Dancehall Doctors.
On the television front, their quick wit, sharp tongues and wild-card unpredictability made them a hit as judges on the USA Network TV series "Nashville Star," which led to their interest in pursuing more television with CMT. “Barely Famous: The Warren Brothers” The result was a reality show cult-classic among music and industry fans alike.
As songwriters, the Warrens honed their skills with likes of Harlan Howard, Guy Clark, Jeffrey Steele and other Nashville hitmakers. Their songwriting earned a buzz in 2003 with a string of cuts starting with McGraw’s “Who Are They” off the multi-platinum Dancehall Doctors album and quickly followed Lynyrd Skynrd (“Red, White & Blue”), more McGraw (“Blank Sheet Of Paper” from Live Like You Were Dying) and Van Zant (“I Can’t Help Myself”).
Their songwriting careers continue to explode with, Martina’s “Anyway” that was nominated for 2007 "Song of the Year" by the CMA's. And Americans fell quiet when Tim McGraw performed "If You're Reading This" at the 2007 ACM's- a tribute to fallen troops and their families, co-written by McGraw and The Warrens. Faith Hill also recorded “Red Umbrella” that was on Faith Hill-The Hits released in 2007. In 2009 the Warren Brothers received their first #1 with Dierks Bentley’s hit “Feel That Fire”. There is more to come from The Warren Brothers in 2009 with songs on Martina McBride’s new cd-Ride and others coming out later in the year.
While enjoying ongoing sales for their 2005 BNA Records "BARELY FAMOUS HITS," and the earlier independent release “WELL-DESERVED OBSCURITY”, the Warren Brothers have taken their musical style into the studio to play a new role, that of record Producer. Working in the studio, The Warrens have added their touch to a new release by recording artist Lance Miller. “We have always been active in making our own records, but this is obviously a new experience for us,” offers Brett. Brad continues, “Yeah, screwing up your own record is one thing – but screwing up someone else’s is a lot more fun.”
As TV stars, songwriters, live entertainers, recording artists and producers, the Warrens are getting larger all the time. And what will happen if their ‘barely’ turns into just plain famous? “I know if sounds generic, coming from two smartasses, but we are really happy and humbled that we’ve had this much success. By not taking ourselves too seriously, our success and fame and popularity -- -- just keep going up.” “On our tombstones, I’d rather it say ‘Those guys were great songwriters’ or ‘Those guys put on a really good show,’ not ‘They were really famous.’”
