About Brighter Light Brigade:

Brighter Light Brigade is a music collective founded in 2020 by Amyliza de Jesus, who is a mom, music therapist, social worker, songwriter, and musician.  As the collective evolves, it will feature a rotating roster of artists, whose intention is to create songs and music that connect, heal, and inspire.

Brighter Light Brigade's debut EP, Feel It All, was released on July 8, 2022 and features Amyliza de Jesus, Marla Vannucci, and producer extraordinaire Dean Jones.

Amyliza and Marla met in the early 2000s through Chicago's legendary Old Town School of Folk Music.  Their friendship started out as meet-ups to play music together, which organically evolved into both writing original songs, performing at open mics, and creating the bands The Patterson Project and Back 40: both female-focused ensembles with country, blues, and folk influences. 

In the summer of 2019, they rekindled their music friendship when paired to co-write during a songwriting workshop hosted by Thinking Outside the Blocks.  Both moms with concerns about the state of the world, they sought to write something inspiring and hopeful.  Amyliza had just seen Mavis Staples in concert and wanted to channel the energy and positivity from her music / show.  So that afternoon, they explored the theme of kindness with Mavis' spirit as their muse.  The single "Kindness Is King" is the result of that songwriting session, and with Dean Jones' help to translate their ideas into a musical track, they shared their anthem of connection and empathy on World Kindness Day 2020.

Because of this inspiring collaboration, Amyliza and Marla made an intention to write more songs together in the future.  To help the cause, inquiries and growing interest in Brighter Light Brigade's next projects helped put a timeline to their aspiration.  And because of their background in mental health (Amyliza is a board-certified music therapist and licensed clinical social worker, and Marla is a licensed clinical psychologist), they knew they wanted to write songs that help families explore socio-emotional themes.  In the summer of 2021, they headed up to No Parking Studio in Hudson Valley, NY to record 13 new songs with Dean.  It was a magical and joyful time, which can be felt in the music that was created during that week (which they affectionately called "Brighter Light Brigade summer camp.")  They are excited to have shared the music they crafted together in two EPs that were released in the summer and fall of 2022: Feel It All and Traveling Together.