Independent musician Bryan Bielanski is currently touring the country with his acoustic guitar and original songs for his tour, “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time II.” He will be performing an all ages, free show at 6 p.m. Sept. 17 at Firetruck Brewery in Ankeny, Iowa.

Since 2012, Bielanski has been performing full-time, traveling to the 48 contiguous states and 19 countries. He describes his music as a mix of Nirvana, The Beatles and Buddy Holly, fitting into the genres of pop, rock and American folk.

“I grew up in a musical household; my parents were big rock and roll fans,” Bielanski said. “Before my dad started a family and everything, he was an aspiring musician himself, so I guess he passed that down to me. Some of my youngest childhood memories are hearing my parents blast rock and roll records loud. Once I got to be a teenager and really got into music, I just decided that was what I wanted to do.”

Some records he listened to repeatedly growing up were Led Zeppelin and REM. He also took inspiration from the underground bands based in Ohio, where he was born, who were popular during Ohio’s new wave punk scene in the 80s.

When Bielanski first started making music, his parents were always supportive and came to any show near North Carolina, where they moved when Bielanski was young.

“They helped me get started as far as making phone calls to newspapers and venues,” Bielanski said. “They were 100% supportive and that really helps. I count myself lucky because I know a lot of people that do music may not have had the most support from their family, so I never take that for granted.”

Both the music and lyrics of his songs are self-written, and he tries to write as often as possible. Oftentimes while on the road, Bielanski will write songs in his head as the lyrics come to him, repeating them over and over as to not forget. Not only does he write everything on his own, but he also releases his music independently.

“I’m totally independent; I’m putting out the albums on my own,” Bielanski said. “Really the only external help I’ve got is my agent. I have a couple of friends that helped me with promotion, digital flyers and sending out flyers, so kind of casual promoters. I’d like to maybe add some more people into the mix of doing that, so there’s room to grow.”

In March of 2020, Bielanski was on tour in Arizona when he had to cancel the rest of his shows. Being unable to perform for over a year was difficult for him not only financially, but also mentally, as all he wanted to do was get back to touring. This mindset is what guided him to name his tour something so positive and wholesome.

“I feel like after the hard time that the world has had the past few years, I think people are ready to have a good time,” Bielanski said. “People should just expect to come in and have a good time and hear some catchy, positive, upbeat songs and have a friendly time there at the Firetrucker Brewery.”

So far, Bielanski’s tour is scheduled to continue through June 2023, but more shows are in the works. Listen to Bielanski’s album on Spotify