Featured Photo by Marshal Clemmer
Story by Marshal Clemmer
It’s nearly noon, roadies work frantically setting up the drums, laying down audio cables, setting up mic stands, placing the speakers on stands and constantly testing the instruments and equipment. They are making sure Friday’s performance went smoothly as every performance has before it. The band walked through the doors in their cowboy boots and Stetson hats to check their instruments, making sure everything was prepared. A booming voice over the PA system in the Walker Library atrium announced the performers, who were there in honor of National Hispanic Heritage Month.
Taking a break from their studies, students piled up around the edges of the atrium, with some looking down from the handrails of the upper floors. Several of them were eager to see the show. By noon, Laura Denisse y Los Brillantes made their presence known.
Laura Denisse y Los Brillantes spin a beautiful blend of Norteño, Tejano and Country music. Their style of music gracefully slides from Norteño music of Northern Mexican with its Austrian-Czech influences, then glides to Tejano style of Mexico with its U.S. influences and dances within rhythms of Country music.
Growing up in a family of musicians in Monterrey, Mexico, Denisse got her inspiration from several musicians.
“I grew up listening to Selena, Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline. I have these influences. I just do my kind of country music,” Denisse said.
The band performed a few of their songs, getting the audience to dance and clap along all throughout the library. From those in the Makerspace on the second Floor to those in the Writing Center on the third floor, Laura Denisse y Los Brillantes could be heard throughout.
Laura Denisse y Los Brillantes’ aspirations have paid off. Denisse proudly announces that they have been nominated for Best New Band and she was nomintated for Best New Female Artist this year’s 43rd Tejano Music Awards. Winners will be announced October 21, aired on San Antonio’s WOAI-TV News 4 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
“Our music is number one in Texas right now,” Denisse said in regard to the band’s song, “Cuando Pienso En Ti.”
They recorded their newest album “Fortune” here in Nashville, Tennessee, with producer Misa Arriaga. Arriaga has worked with famous country music stars such as Zac Brown and Willie Nelson.
Currently, Laura y Los Brillantes’ music is streaming across all platforms.
To contact Lifestyles Editor Destiny Mizell, email lifestyles@mtsusidelines.com. For more news, visit www.mtsusidelines.com, or follow us on Facebook at MTSU Sidelines or on X at @MTSUSidelines.
