Brendan Abernathy: 'Married In a Year' Singer — Live Music Vs Streams, Content, Faith & Authenticity

Can you build a music career without going viral? I sat down with singer-songwriter Brendan Abernathy, the artist fans call Everyone's Local Artist, before his song Married in a Year took off on TikTok.

Brendan swapped an economics degree for four years of touring 330 days a year, living out of his car and crashing on more than a thousand couches. We get into the three days alone in a cabin that set him on this path, the night two gifts added up to the exact $2,228 he was short on rent, how his faith shapes every big call, and why he has met at least 12,000 of his 13,300 Instagram followers in person.

He also explains why monthly listener counts mislead, why he never plays with a set list, and why he plans his life in four-year blocks, a rule I'm stealing for my own New York move.