An up-and-coming Jersey City musical sensation will be the lead-off performer at this Sunday’s free July 4 Festival on Sinatra Drive in Hoboken. He also plans to release a new album called “Ripped Jeans” next month and will head on a tour through California, Miami, and Europe.
He is Brady Cudmore, who at 20 years old is following in the footsteps of Madonna and Cher by embracing a single-word on-stage persona: “Brady.” Although Brady is a long way from becoming a household name, the young musician entertained 15,000 fans in Buffalo, N.Y. last weekend.
“This is a pretty big deal for me,” said Cudmore last week. “Getting up in front of thousands of people – it’s just really shocking.”
“It’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.” – Brady Cudmore
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In Buffalo last weekend, he was slated to perform at the Lancaster National Speedway with a supporting cast of 20 female teenager dancers – something the young man said was very stressful.
“There’s a lot of teenagers here,” Cudmore said. “You can only imagine.”
While the performer is used to working with people much older than him, working with dancers closer to his own age was a welcome change of pace.
“It’s a lot easier working with people around my own age,” he said. “I have a firm understanding of where they’re coming from and we can relate. We’ve had a lot of laughs.”
Classics and new stuff
Cudmore uses some original material and also covers the classics, as with his club remix of David Bowie’s “Let’s Dance.”
In addition to last weekend’s show, Cudmore scheduled two on-air radio interviews.
“It’s been an incredible experience already,” he said. “It’s something I’m going to remember for the rest of my life.”
Buffalo, N.Y.-native and Stevens Institute of Technology student Ben Clifford is a colleague of Cudmore’s and was in Buffalo to perform in the show.
“Brady is amazing,” Clifford said. “We’ve been playing smaller venues and open mics for two or three years now. It’s great to support each other and go to each other’s shows.”
Met local music producer
Emmy Award winning producer David Musial, who is the music and technology director at Stevens in Hoboken, first discovered Cudmore at a convention in 2007.
The eager teenager had no problem introducing himself to the successful music producer.
“He spoke very fast,” Musial said. “He came right up to me and said his name was Brady Cudmore and that he drove 20 hours to New York to become a pop star.”
Local support
Musial signed the budding performer to his record label One World Artists Group and quickly rallied support from local music industry legends like Hudson County’s own Carlos Alomar, who has worked with legends like Paul McCartney and David Bowie.
“[Alomar] has been teaching him to play the guitar,” Musial said. “It’s incredible how much support and how much people in the industry believe in him.”
Other notable industry professionals who are working on Cudmore’s album include Hoboken singer and songwriter Kevin Bertotti, and Rob Harari, who owns Harariville Recording Studios in Weehawken.
As for the young musician, he hopes to one day become a role model for kids growing up and coping with the pressures of having to fit in.
“I hope I can be something of mentor,” he said. “I want to tell people to enjoy being a freak, be yourself, and kick butt.”
For more information on Brady Cudmore, go to his website: www.bradysongs.com. For other performers in this weekend’s Hoboken festival, see sidebar.
Sean Allocca can be reached at editorial@hudsonreporter.com
SIDEBAR
Hoboken 4th of July Festival
The Hoboken 4th of July Festival runs on Sunday July 4, 2010 from noon to 10 p.m. at Frank Sinatra Drive between First and Fifth streets.
It features art, craft, photography, food, rides, games, face painting, live music, and more.
For information, call the Cultural Affairs Office at 201-420-2207.
Live music from noon to 6 p.m. in the Sinatra Park amphitheatre featuring performances by:
12 p.m. to 12:15 p.m. – Brady
12:30 p.m. to 1 p.m. – Lloyd United – Lloyd United: It’s a ukulele band
1:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m. – Roland Ramos
2:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. – Loretta Hagen
2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. – Dave Calamoneri
3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. – Mad Dog Mary
4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. – Devyl Nellys
5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. – Ed Smith & the Ego