Brett Gillan

About

Story

Computer scientist, country frontman, Nashville songwriter, and Program Director at CreatiVets.

Brett Gillan has always been a competitor. He played Division I basketball at Illinois State University while earning a degree in Applied Computer Science, then added a Master’s in Business Administration (M.B.A.), all on track for a career building web applications at State Farm’s corporate headquarters in Bloomington, Illinois. Instead, he completely changed the trajectory of his life. In 2010, he became the front-man and one of the founding members of Brushville (formerly Brushfire), an upbeat rockin’ country band operating out of Central Illinois.

Brushville toured relentlessly across the Midwest, playing 120+ full band shows per year and achieving great successes along the way. Brushville sold out multiple 1,000 capacity venues as a headliner and shared the stage with more than sixty (60) major label acts from Lady Antebellum to Alan Jackson to even Styx and R.E.O. Speedwagon. They also played at Spinnaker Beach Club in Panama City Beach, FL during spring break with Luke Bryan for five (5) straight years. One of the band’s milestones was winning the Battle for the Saddle, a battle of the bands style competition, at the world famous Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, TN in 2012. Among the judges for the competition was industry veteran, Michael Knox (Jason Aldean).

In 2014, Brushville went on to release their first and only studio album with GRAMMY winning producer, Kyle Lehning (Randy Travis). The album flew to #1 on the Billboard Heatseeker chart in its first week of sales, but even with multiple radio tours, the band was unable to chart a single in the Top 40. Brushville continued to tour and signed a management deal with Hallmark Direction Company (John Dorris, Marty Dillingham). The band showcased for multiple record labels in Nashville, TN during 2016 but ultimately were not able to secure a record deal.

In early 2017, Brett then made a decision to change the trajectory of his life, yet again. He parted ways with Brushville and moved to Nashville, TN to further pursue his musical career. Brett is currently living in Nashville and continues to grow as a songwriter. In 2018, he entered a song into the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition. The song, “Lighthouse”, co-written with Matt Houston, was selected as one of 3 finalists in the “gospel/inspirational” category in the worldwide search. In 2019, Brett entered “Lighthouse” again as well as a country song called “Nothing Between Us”, co-written with Matt Houston and Jessie Smith, into the USA Songwriting Competition. Both were selected as finalists.

Off stage, that competitive drive never left. Brett is a brown belt in Brazilian jiu jitsu with an IBJJF gold medal, and in 2026 he completed his first marathon.

Brett Gillan in a trucker cap and grey T-shirt with a city skyline behind him

MilestonesTimeline

  1. Illinois State UniversityPlays Division I basketball; earns an Applied Computer Science degree and an M.B.A.; on track for a career making web applications at State Farm.
  2. 2010Becomes frontman and a founding member of Brushville (formerly Brushfire).
  3. 2012Brushville wins the Battle for the Saddle at the Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville.
  4. 2014Debut album with GRAMMY-winning producer Kyle Lehning hits #1 on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in its first week.
  5. 2016Signs with Hallmark Direction Company and showcases for record labels in Nashville.
  6. 2017Leaves Brushville and moves to Nashville to pursue songwriting.
  7. 2018“Lighthouse” named one of 3 finalists (gospel/inspirational) in the John Lennon International Songwriting Competition.
  8. 2019“Lighthouse” and “Nothing Between Us” both finalists in the USA Songwriting Competition.
  9. 2022Wins IBJJF gold in Brazilian jiu jitsu.
  10. 2026Completes his first marathon.
Brett Gillan

Program DirectorCreatiVets

Brett currently serves as the Program Director of a non-profit charity called CreatiVets, which is run by Richard Casper, one of Time Magazine’s “Next Generation Leaders” of 2017. CreatiVets teaches conceptual art and songwriting to combat veterans that suffer from unseen wounds of war (post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, etc).

CreatiVets has teamed up with such institutions as The Grand Ole Opry, The Country Music Hall of Fame, Vanderbilt’s Blair School of Music, School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), University of Southern California (USC), The Smithsonian Anacostia Community Museum, Zac Brown’s Camp Southern Ground and others to help eliminate the staggering number of veteran suicides (20 per day).