Gaz Brookfield | |
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![]() Brookfield playing live at the Cheese and Grain, Frome in 2022. | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Gareth Brookfield |
Born | Kettering, Northamptonshire, England | 4 July 1979
Genres | Acoustic, Folk, Rock |
Occupation(s) | Singer, songwriter |
Instrument(s) | Guitar, vocals, harmonica |
Years active | 2006–present |
Labels | In My Lounge Records Land Pirate Records |
Website | http://www.gazbrookfield.com |
Gareth "Gaz" Brookfield (born 4 July 1979) is an English folk and rock musician, who is based near Swindon, England. He is usually a solo artist, playing acoustic guitar, but is regularly joined by fiddle player Ben Wain and also has a full band, the Company of Thieves.
In his early career, Brookfield played with a number of bands but moved to a solo career in 2006. [1] In 2010, he won Acoustic Magazine's Singer-Songwriter of the Year award, [2] which also won him a place on the Big Top stage at Beautiful Days Festival, where he has played a number of times since. [3] He has also played at other major festivals such as Glastonbury, [4] and supported artists such as The Levellers, New Model Army, Ferocious Dog, and Frank Turner. [5] [6] In 2011, he became the first (and to this date only) unsigned solo act to sell out the 450-capacity [7] Fleece in Bristol, [3] an achievement which he has since repeated four more times with his Christmas shows; [8] the 2014 show was also his 1,000th gig. [9] In 2017, due to demand, the Christmas show was moved to the 750-capacity [10] Bristol Bierkeller which sold out as well. [11] With the closure of the Bierkeller shortly afterwards, the 2018 show was moved again, this time to the bigger SWX venue, [12] [13] where the 2019 show was also held. The Bristol Post , naming Brookfield in their "60 Coolest People in Bristol" article, said "There aren't many musicians in Bristol who could sell out the 1,100-capacity SWX, but he does." [14]
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Brookfield was forced to shield due to his Type 1 diabetes, [15] and was one of the first artists to write and publish an entire album about the pandemic which was appropriately called Lockdown and was released on 2 October 2020. While unable to tour during the pandemic, he played a weekly live stream entitled "Live from the Lockdown", [16] which celebrated its one-year anniversary with the 52nd show on 12 March 2021. [17] Brookfield released his eighth album, Idiomatic on 1 November 2021, which reached No.71 in the UK Albums Chart, and No.10 in the UK Download Chart. [18]
In August 2023, Brookfield's ninth studio album, Morning Walking Club, was released. It reached No.37 in the UK Albums Chart, and No.1 in the UK Official Folk Albums Chart. [19]
In August 2025, his tenth studio album, Waiting for Wisdom, reached No.1 in the UK Download Chart and No.43 in the UK Album Chart. [20]
Brookfield plays semi-regular shows with a full band, the line-up of which is as follows; [21]
Brookfield has released nine original studio albums, plus four "Solo Acoustic Guy" albums with re-workings of his previous songs. He has also produced a number of live albums. [22]
Year | Title | Peak chart positions | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
UK Albums | UK Independent | UK Download | UK Folk Albums | ||
2011 | Trial and Error | — | — | — | — |
2012 | Tell it to the Beer | — | — | — | — |
2013 | In The Company Of Thieves | — | — | — | — |
2015 | True and Fast | — | — | — | — |
2016 | I Know My Place | — | — | — | — |
2019 | Lostfolk | — | — | — | — |
2020 | Lockdown | — | — | — | — |
2021 | Idiomatic | 71 | 20 | 10 | — |
2023 | Morning Walking Club | 37 | 10 | 6 | 1 |
2025 | Waiting for Wisdom | 43 | 17 | 1 | — |
All data from the UK Official Charts. [23] |