Bronte Fall performs "Freeway High" for Today in Nashville airing weekdays at 11am on WSMV_TV

Mid-week, we talked to the author of one of the best EP’s of the year, Teri Bracken and her Brontë Fall artistic moniker. Bracken is back with ‘Finishing School’ out everywhere on August 21st. A six-song masterpiece that touches on the constraints that the modern woman faces on subjects ranging from marriage to aging, Brontë Fall achieves a spectacular indie-pop/Americana blend that will leave the listener inspired and in ‘awe’ of Bracken’s vocals.

In this episode of Past, Present, Future, Live! RJ sits down with Teri Bracken, singer and multi-instrumentalist behind the group Brontë Fall. Classically trained on violin and piano, Bracken began playing guitar and writing Americana songs while studying classical music at Berklee. She formed Brontë Fall in 2015 and brought her new material to life, inspired by the Brontë sisters and their legacy of fighting for gender equality in the arts.

The term "finishing school" can have two meanings. In the past, it usually referred to the place where young women went to learn social graces and upper-class manners, deportment, and etiquette. More colloquially, finishing school also means one has reached the end of one's formal learning. The Nashville-based band Brontë Fall, headed by Teri Bracken, call their new EP Finishing School referring to both definitions.

Brontë Fall, the songwriting pen name of classically trained multi-instrumentalist Teri Bracken, embodies the spirit of a centuries-old push by the Brontë sisters to have their -- and all women's -- voices heard. Within her sophomore effort, "Finishing School," Bracken embraces Charlotte, Emily and Anne's fight against the ever-evolving societal restraint on women; at times with a sword and armor and at times with words and ideas. Out Aug. 21, "Finishing School" features six songs that find Bracken growing beyond her roots in orchestral music with a broadening of influences and cross-genre songwriting.

Brontë Fall have a lot to live up to and Finishing School takes that task very seriously. Songwriter and bandleader Teri Bracken is well aware of the legacy of the three Brontë sisters and how they had to use male pseudonyms to initially publish their works. Thankfully that’s not the world we live in today, although how far we’ve actually come is still subject to question. Gender inequality still exists as Bracken notes, “Women have to fight harder to get their voices heard and to hold prominent positions in the workplace. We are still fighting the same fight as Emily, Charlotte and Anne!”

Today, the deeply relevant EP Finishing School was released by Brontë Fall. The literature-infused pen name is the songwriting project of classically trained musician Teri Bracken, who is ever inspired by the Brontë sisters and their courageous defiance of social norms at a time when women’s voices often went unheard. After coming across Emily Brontë’s poem “Fall Leaves Fall”, Bracken fell in love with the idea of finding beauty in the darker seasons of life. In her own life and music, Bracken embodies the spirit of this poem and the Brontë sisters with an openness and eloquence that firmly impresses her messages in her listeners’ minds. Most of all, Bracken wants to use her art to empower those around her and to connect with those who can identify with her experiences. She says:

Classically trained multi-instrumentalist Teri Bracken took on Bronte Fall as her songwriting pen name, inspired by her love of music, literature and the history of the Bronte sisters, who in the 19th century when only men’s opinions were valued, defied the odds to have their voices heard. On her sophomore effort "Finishing School," she embraces the sisters' fight against the ever-evolving societal restraint on women. The EP illustrates the struggles women face each day, from the fight against misogyny in the music industry and beyond, as on the track “Warrior,” to the importance of celebrating aging in a society that urges women to look younger, illustrated on “Six Years.” Musically, the six songs on the record finds Bracken growing beyond her roots in orchestral music, exploring cross-genre songwriting that spans from Americana to indie-pop.

There seem to be two types of people in this world: ones who say “I can’t believe how quick this year has gone by” and others who say “it’s only August? When is this year going to end?” I for one am in the category of Get Me To 2021 Now. I don’t have to sit here and lecture you on the dumpster fire that is 2020, because you’ve heard it and bought the t-shirt. Thankfully, one thing that has triumphed this year is music, especially of the female variety. Women artists have produced some of the most prolific music of 2020 from The Chicks to Dua Lipa to Soccer Mommy and most recently Cardi B and Megan Thee Stallion. On this week’s New Music Friday, we take a look at some female Nashville-based artists making a name for themselves this year.

Brontë Fall, the songwriting pen name of classically trained multi-instrumentalist Teri Bracken, embodies the spirit of a centuries-old push by the Brontë sisters to have their—and all women’s—voices heard. Within her just-released sophomore effort, Finishing School, Bracken embraces Charlotte, Emily, and Anne’s fight against the ever-evolving societal restraint on women.

Hailing from Chicago, Bronte Fall is the songwriting/recording name of Teri Bracken who now calls Nashville her home. Although classically trained, her music reflects and embraces the eclectic mixture of genres which come out of music city, leaning particularly towards a soulful Americana sound on her new EP “Finishing School” released last Friday 21st August and which includes this beautiful track, “White Dress”. It’s a song which is pretty autobiographical in nature as Teri turned her back on the traditional route of marriage and children to pursue her musical career, which saw her studying classical violin at the prestigious Berklee College in Boston. To quote Teri, “I come from a very traditional background where most women settle down at home a few years after college to raise their families. As I get to the age where that’s what I should be doing or want to be doing, I feel more pressure to follow suit and less inclined to do so”.

Brontë Fall, the songwriting pen name of classically trained multi-instrumentalist Teri Bracken, embodies the spirit a centuries-old push by the Brontë sisters to have their-and all women's-voices heard.

Within her sophomore effort, Finishing School, Bracken embraces Charlotte, Emily, and Anne's fight against the ever-evolving societal restraint on women; at times with a sword and armor and at times with words and ideas. Out today, Finishing School features six songs that find Bracken growing beyond her roots in orchestral music with a broadening of influences and cross-genre songwriting. Finishing School is available today, click here to stream or purchase.

Checking out this week’s new music releases…

Teri Bracken of Brontë Fall just released her new EP, Finishing School, is full of songs that “take stock of her place in life, in romance, and in the world itself.” We learn about how Teri has come to that place in the world — from Lehigh University and Berklee College of Music, to Chicago and, finally, Nashville — on today’s episode of The Quinn Spinn

Interview also featured on The Cameron Dole Experience on QX106