Brother Sun
Greg Greenway, Joe Jencks, Pat Wictor

Brother Sun, the popular trio of Greg Greenway, Joe Jencks and Pat Wictor have decided that the group will cease touring in 2017 and each artist will pursue individual projects.  This will effectively end a six year run that saw the Brother Sun grace stages of venues and festivals across the continent and record three albums that have become staples of contemporary folk music. Although the group will cease to exist (at least for the foreseeable future), each artist will continue to create music and pursue individual projects.   The trio issued this statement:

As another year draws to a close, we offer you our most sincere gratitude for helping us make it a wondrous year of concerts and performances! With festival and venue appearances across the United States and Canada, we have been deeply touched by your many kindnesses and your genuine support. We thank you!

Now looking forward to next year, we have some important news to share: 2017 will be our last year touring as Brother Sun.

As many of you know, we have navigated a multitude of logistical and financial challenges to make this far-flung ensemble work for the last 6 years. It has been an honor and a privilege to create music together as Brother Sun. Our goal from the beginning has been to make Brother Sun greater than the sum of its parts, to present a positive example of men working together. We believe that we’ve done that. Together, with all of you supporting us, we’ve made something magical and uplifting. It’s an honor and a privilege to create music together. We have made some of the best music of our lives, and performed for so many amazing audiences in so many spectacular places. Genuine magic has touched us, and we are aware of just how rare that is.

However, priorities change, and the conditions of life change. We each want to pursue other artistic expressions, have much more time to give to our loved ones, and pursue a healthier balance between our personal and artistic commitments. And we each recognize that we have long lists of creative and life pursuits that are precluded by the depth of dedication required to continue traveling as Brother Sun. The conclusion we’ve mutually and amicably arrived at, after much dialogue, is that we need to bring Brother Sun to a close. We will suspend touring together as a trio in the fall of 2017, for the foreseeable future.

We know many of you will want to see us at least once more as a trio. And we want to see you too! That is why we wanted to give you plenty of notice. As such, we will continue to tour as Brother Sun nearly full-time through mid-September of 2017. And we’ll have a final weekend of shows in the Northeast, the first weekend of November 2017.

It’s a good time to sing healing, love, and goodness into the world, and that’s what we’ll be doing in our last year together as Brother Sun. We also hope that you will continue to follow and support our solo careers and other collaborative projects beyond Brother Sun.

It’s been an amazing six years, and we still have almost an entire year remaining as an ensemble! So… We’ll see you on the road, and look forward to having the chance to thank you in person for being such amazing friends and fans!

We wish for you a holiday season filled with good company and good music!

In Gratitude,

Brother Sun

Greg Greenway, Joe Jencks, Pat Wictor

Brother Sun

It was seven years ago backstage at a Phil Ochs Song Night at the Hurdy Gurdy Folk Music Club in Fair Lawn when Greg Greenway mentioned to me that he was getting together with Joe and Pat to form a trio.  He asked me if I would be interested in booking them, and I quickly agreed on the spot before I heard the trio sing a single note.  I did not have to hear them collectively to envision the magic that they could create.  Having known each artist, it was easy to realize that their artistry would lead to a very important musical statement. I wasn’t alone in that thought as the group quickly became staples on the folk music circuit.

The Hurdy Gurdy was lucky to be able to present one of their first concerts. We were honored to have presented them in concert three times in the following year, most recently in June 2016. Our audiences loved them, and will miss the unique harmonies and loving spirit that they shared.

While it is sad to see Brother Sun come to a close, we are left with three wonderful CDs and the expectation that each artist will continue to create heartfelt music that will inspire an ever growing audience.

My best wishes to Greg, Joe and Pat.  I look forward to booking each of them at the Hurdy Gurdy and sharing their songs on the radio.