Bio

A Metropolitan Guide is the music project of Peoria, Illinois (song)writer, Brian J. N. Davis.

My songs consist primarily of my sometimes gentle, sometimes raucous voice, guitar, and piano, situated, more or less, in the wide umbrella of the folk rock tradition. You will occasionally find guests contributing their exceptional talents --Sarah Riskind (violin, vocals); and Kevin Davis (bass, guitar, vocals) are the two most likely suspects. Otherwise, you will find me adding an array of instrumentation as situations dictate.

All songs you hear are written by yours truly --the great ones, the iffy ones, the polite ones, the bullies-- and sit confidently at the crossroads of seasoned veteran and I-don't-know-what-I'm-doing, self-engineered lovingly at Little Plane Studios in Peoria, IL.

I document this crossroads in the weekly Substack, The Diary of a Failed Musician, of which your PSA tagline is "explorations on a life of songwriting." If that interests you, please read and subscribe (free).

As for live shows, you can expect solo, or duo, performances, the songs slightly more intimate versions of their recorded brethren, standing at the ready to morph to the room in which they find themselves. 

Welcome to the tour.