 There may be no family name to come out of Idaho that is more synonymous with music than Braun. Patriarch Muzzie Braun father’s Eustacious “Musty” Braun moved his family to Twin Falls, Idaho, in the ’50s to make a living playing the Nevada lounges. Muzzie himself started playing in bands, and releasing albums, with his own brothers while in high school. Eventually, Muzzie had a family of four boys with wife JoAnn. The family toured the country as Muzzie Braun and the Boys, even appearing on the Tonight Show - twice- in the late 1980's. As time went on, those boys moved away and found success in two Texas-based bands of their own. Willy and Cody front the wildly popular Reckless Kelly and Micky and Gary formed the equally beloved Micky & The Motorcars. Every year, the family comes together in the town of Challis near the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho for the Braun Brothers Reunion. Founded by Muzzie and his brothers, the BBR is a three-day festival that celebrates music and features esteemed artists from the Texas, Americana and Red Dirt scenes in a spectacular outdoor setting. In the first part of a series spotlighting the artists of the BBR, founder Muzzie Braun graciously took the time to speak all about the festival and more. Music has been a tremendous part of your life from a young age. Do you get to play out much anymore? I do play out, but not as much as I used to. We live around some resort areas in central Idaho and I play in those areas as well as at private parties, weddings and stuff like that. In the Summer, I have this really cool gig at a ranch where I hang out on the porch and play acoustic guitar, which is really nice. Has the music scene in Idaho changed over the years? There’s a lot more of a music scene than there used to be. There are more people interested in seeing live music and more venues so that is a good thing. Boise is the biggest city and probably overall has the best, most eclectic music scene. Ketchum [in Sun Valley] is a resort and always has a lot going on, allowing them more diversity in terms of venues, festivals and events for people to play at.  Courtesy: Muzzie Braun One of the gems of the festival season, the Braun Brothers Reunion, has been around for quite some time. How and when did it begin?
We’re not exactly sure, it’s been so long that it is hard to nail it down (laughing). My brothers and I recorded our first album in 1979 and in 1980 we did a release show for it in Stanley. That was the first gathering of friends and family and from there we started an annual get together. There were maybe a few years we missed, but it has been going on solidly for about 35 years. It's a true family affair. Do you and your wife do the majority of the work alone or do the boys help? Actually, we do and always have. Right now the sons and their wives are all coming on board and we’re showing them the steps that it takes to put on the event. They’re doing a lot of the work now and pretty soon it will all be theirs and we can go sit on the front porch. It sounds as if you’re ready to hand over the reins? We are, yeah. The boys are showing interest and there are some things I know they would like to do, so I wish them well. I know they will do a great job. Over the years, how has the BBR changed and grown? We originally did most of the shows in Stanley, which is sixty miles from Challis, but we have been in Challis thirteen years now. It started out as a one-day event in Challis and then the next several years we did a street dance. We had so many people come out that we moved it to the park-golf course area where it is now. We built the stage for the community and since then it has been a three-day event. That’s been the big evolution. If we had places for people to bed down, we could make it larger, but I am really happy with the numbers that we have. It’s controllable us, for the city and for the audience themselves. I think they appreciate the fact that there aren’t ten thousand people there. We average 6000-7000 people total for the three days. Thursday there are about 2000, Friday we see about 2500 and Saturday there are 3000. Those are great numbers considering Challis only has one thousand people, so the event basically triples the size of the town. The BBR has seen so many esteemed artists on the stage. Is there anyone on your wish list? I’ve tried to get John Prine but for years but he is always in Ireland in the summertime. Guy Clark was here when it was in Stanley and we had him booked about four years ago, but he had to cancel for health reasons and now he’s not doing as well as we would like him to be. I don’t think he would be able to make it back out here. [Ed. Note Guy Clark passed on May 17th, 2016] How about the line-up this year? Is there anyone that you have not seen? I’ve never seen Cody Johnson play, but the one I’m personally most excited about is Alejandro Escovedo. I have seen him before and he lights it up. I’m excited for people to come out to the event because a lot of times they don’t know the artists playing so it’s really neat to be able to turn them on to someone that they haven’t heard of or seen before like, the Peterson Bros and Shinyribs at last year’s event. Exposing people to artists that they may not have heard of is one of the things that makes the BBR special. What makes the BBR special to you? The number one thing is if you have never been to Idaho that’s worth a trip in itself and the festival can be a spot to wind up at. Just to get to Idaho and Challis you will have to do some traveling, but you will see so much, meet some nice people and experience a piece of the state that I think is just a wonderful. I’m a native and I promote it as much as I can because I think it’s a great place for people to come and reflect in music and attitude and I hope we can share that with people. The area definitely does foster that overall feel. How do you find the audience because to me, they seem to be true music lovers who appreciate, and are attentive to, who is in front of them on stage? It’s a music event. I get so many offers from different types of businesses for vending to come and sell cowboy hats, saddles, jewelry, and food but we try to keep it about the music. And so the people that come I think they’re really into the music and that’s what makes it special not just for the audience but for the artists too because they get to play to people who are really paying attention to what is going on rather than being on their telephones. The audience comes from all over the world: almost every state and from far away as Europe which speaks a great deal about the festival if people are willing to travel that far for it. Over the years, I think we had representation from thirty states. I never stuck a pin in a map, but we’ve hit a lot of them that’s for sure. We also have had people from Germany, Sweden, the UK, Australia and Canada. It amazes me because that is such a long-ways, but it’s a neat deal. This year’s event takes place August 11-13th. When does planning start for 2017, on August 14th? We're actually looking at acts for next year already because some of these guys book a long-ways out and you want to put a bug in their ear early so you have a better chance of getting them. We really wanted Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen this year, but they were both committed. So we’re talking to them now to get on the calendar for next year. In addition to the music, you host a golf tournament one morning of the BBR. Is that along the lines of the Jam [Reckless Kelly’s Celebrity Softball Jam] where talent is optional or is this more serious? Oh no, it’s completely off the map. Golf is a passion of mine so I started doing the tournament for the musicians, our sponsors, and a few close friends, but it got to the point where people were requesting to join, so I opened it up. It has gotten to be a pretty big deal. We dress up and play nine holes over five hours. I have a great time those three days. I’ve learned how to mix business with pleasure. Tickets for the BBR are selling fast and are available as follows: One Day Pass $50 Two Day Pass (Fri & Sat ONLY) $76.30 Three Day Pass $114.30 Kids age 5 and under get in FREE Kids age 6-12 $15 Kids tickets are only available at gate, day of show. For more information on the 2016 Braun Brothers Reunion, held August 11-13, including lodging, the full line-up and much more, visit the official website Find the BBR on Facebook and Twitter
1 Comment
Benny Bendixsen
6/5/2016 03:45:27 pm
Hey Muzzie see if you can get me signed up for golf this summer. Leave a Reply. |