WILLIAMSBURG — Tunes in Town is an occasional series that will catch up with some of the local musical talents that call Hampton Roads home.
Bryan Bielanski is a North Carolina-based singer/songwriter who will be performing locally at Berret’s Seafood Restaurant and Taphouse Grill on June 29 at 7 p.m.
His stop in Williamsburg is part of his tour to promote his new album, “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time, Volume 3.” Bielanski’s upcoming performance in Williamsburg will be his first.
“I’m really inspired by the golden age of rock and roll, the early ’60s and the late 1950s. To me, that was, like, the best period of time. Of course, I do play cover songs from more recent artists as well. To me and as far as my originals go, I definitely look to that time period back then as a big source of inspiration,” Bielanski said.
The new album is a mix of covers and original music, including a song based on the popular Super Mario video game series.
“There are a lot of pop culture themes within my music. I like singing about “Star Wars,” video games, comic books, and things like that. There is a lot of that in my music and I think those are the songs that people seem to really enjoy a lot,” Bielanski said.
Bielanski primarily plays guitar, but also includes the harmonica and kazoo in his live performances. When in the studio, he also plays bass guitar and drums. To date, he has played live in 49 states (Alaska is the exception) and 25 countries in Europe, Asia, and Central America. He hopes to add Antarctica to that list at some point.
When it comes to naming his albums, “Super Happy Fun Time,” Bielanski said it stems from wanting to make people smile.
“With life, people should just take the time to enjoy the good things in life and just remember with all the stuff going on in the world that there’s people who sing about the good things in life. I like to make my concerts an oasis of joy,” Bielanski said.
Bielanski said he draws much of his inspiration from Paul McCartney.
“I love the way that he is always positive, optimistic. I love the fact that he is still doing music at his age. I certainly hope that I’ll still be doing music when I get to be that age myself. He’s always recording, always touring, he’s really true to his craft and always a very positive guy,” Bielanski said.
In the fall, Bielanski will release “Bryan’s Super Happy Fun Time, Volume 4.” His music can be streamed on all music platforms.
For more information on Bielanski, visit bryanssuperhappyfuntime.com.
