Mountain Soul: Brooke Mackintosh

How do you categorize a musical style that's a little bit jazz, a little bit folk, and a whole lot of soul? Brooke Mackintosh answers this question with a genre she coined herself, Mountain Soul. It describes the unique sound she has only heard from Utah musicians --- a combination of rhythm and blues with a twist of modern folk.

Brooke Mackintosh at Union Tavern

"There's a lot of soul out here just aching to get out. Utah musicians have found a way to take that deep bluesy sound and add their original flavor to make this whole new thing that's all their own. I'm proud to be part of that."

Brooke knows first-hand how that Utah soul finds it's way from an ache in the heart to a song on the stage. Brooke grew up in Morgan, Utah, a small rural town in the northern valley. She remembers singing songs like Stairway to Heaven around the campfire while her father accompanied her on the guitar.

"My dad really instilled in me the love of music and taught me to play the piano by ear. We didn’t have a very close relationship otherwise so playing music together is time with my dad that I really honor and cherish. He had three jobs. So he was just really busy taking care of the family."

As Brooke got older, she found herself wanting to master other musical instruments --- and her sites were set on the guitar.

"My father's guitar was off limits. One day I was downstairs dusting and I sort of reached over and strummed the guitar a little. Just then my father came down and said, 'what are you doing?' I jumped and said I wasn't doing anything. He just looked at me and said, 'you want to learn to play that thing?' I was like, yes! years ago!"

Her father taught her a few cords and Brooke's passion took off. She began writing lyrics and developed her own rich, soulful croon. It was then that her father stepped down as her trainer.

"I didn't quite understand why he did that and it made me feel a little abandoned. I wrote a song about it called 'If you try' and put it on my first album, Blue Skies Await. I think my continuing on in music is my way of letting him know how much I really do appreciate the time we spent together."

Brooke and musical guest, Kirk Dath, at Union Tavern

Like many teenage girls, Brooke wanted to be a pop star and she had the talent to make it happen. The one thing standing in her way was her religion. Brooke was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, a religion that emphasizes the importance of family and motherhood. When Brooke expressed her ambitions to a church leader, she was told she couldn't serve two masters; either she chooses to be a mother and a member of the church, or leave the church and be a pop star.

Shortly after that conversation, Brooke made her choice. She left her husband of only a couple years, left the church, packed her fifth wheel, and, with her father's blessing, headed for San Diego to pursue a music career. There, Brooke headlined a successful musical variety show called Brooklyn and Friends, and met a producer who would help her publish a pop album, Monarchs. The album nominated for best pop album in SD in 2011. He also gave her a son born the same year. Things were good, and Brooke was success....until the recession hit.

"It got hard for all the musicians. Gigs dried up, and we all had to find other sources of income."

The San Diego music scene scattered and Brooke found herself back in Utah. She now writes more original pieces and performs along side her invited guests in venues in Salt Lake as well as Park City. You can find Brooke and her guests of top Utah musical artists belting out some mountain soul at the Union Tavern every Wednesday at 7 PM.