About this Artist
Described as "Gangster Musical Theatre" by Qveen Herby, Durand Bernarr combines elements of Little Richard and Rick James with his own unique flair, characterized by his powerful vocals and clever storytelling. The result is unmistakably Durand, earning him the title of "your favorite singer's favorite singer."
The Cleveland-native performance artist, vocalist, producer and songwriter debuted his latest visual EP En Route, now available on all streaming platforms. Distributed by Create Music Group, En Route is a genre-bending compilation of Durand’s musical influences and serves as a transitional bridge between his sophomore album Wanderlust and his forthcoming solo and collaborative releases. Emulating the lead single “Unknown” and the second single “Fist Bump ft. Free Nationals,” En Route premiered exclusively to fans on EVEN before its public release. Described as a road trip, the eight-track EP provides a soundtrack to the open road of adventure.
Durand is set to perform at a series of prominent music festivals, including the Vermont Jazz Fest, MOBI Fest, Thesis Park, Bonnaroo, TivoliVredenburg, All Points East, We Out Here Festival, and more.
The proclaimed “artist to know” had quite a remarkable year in 2023. Amidst his successful sold-out 17-city tour, The Wanderlust Tour, NPR premiered his now viral Tiny Desk performance where he and his band paid homage to Disney's beloved animated TV series, The Proud Family. Furthermore, Benarr recorded two songs for the Spotify Singles series. As part of this endeavor, he released a reimagined version of Seal's 1994 hit "Kiss from a Rose," along with a remix of his own single "Leveled." Alongside captivating performances at events like Afropunk, ONE Musicfest, and Sol Blume, Durand joined Erykah Badu on her "Unfollow Me" tour, lending his voice as a background vocalist throughout the tour and making appearances as an opening act in three cities out of the tour's 25 stops. He also announced and completed the second leg of his tour titled "My Bad for Taking So Long…The Wanderlust Tour Continues," following the success of his sold-out 2022 'The Step Into My Office Tour.' During The Wanderlust Tour, he unveiled his alternative alias “DJ TBD aka Bra Coley - no relation to the late great Daryl Coley” - seamlessly integrating DJ sets into his live shows and at gatherings such as Everyday People.
In 2021, Durand opened for Erykah Badu on her BADUBOTRON tour in Nashville, TN; headlined MOBIfest 2021; performed for Netflix and Hillman Grad’s “Moments in Love”, a live music experience that featured performances by Black queer R&B artists and a taped conversation between Lena Waithe and Grammy Award-winning singer Maxwell, to highlight the release of the third season of the Emmy-award winning series, “Master of None;” performed for and hosted the 2022 Road to Roots Picnic, a presentation of influential Black voices and creatives across genres in an inspired evening of live music and performance at The Kennedy Center, curated by The Roots; followed by a crowd-favorite performance at the official Roots Picnic in Philadelphia, PA; headlined the 2022 NYC PrideFest which included a live broadcast of his performance for “Stuck”. on ABC7; and received a Grammy honor for ‘Freefall’, featured on KAYTRANADA’s Grammy-winning album BUBBA, just to name a few.