Ashley Brooke Toussant Mixes Classic and New Sounds

Ashley Brooke Toussant has always wanted to sing. From her earliest memories, she recalls the simple joy of singing a song. It’s a passion that has taken the 26-year-old Canton native on a musical journey that continues to evolve.

Toussant performs Wednesday at 8 p.m. at the with Cleveland band The Lighthouse and the Whaler.

“Growing up I always knew I wanted to be a singer – not necessarily a singer-songwriter – but always a singer,” Toussant said on her way back from a visit to Washington, D.C.

With that goal in mind, Toussant took vocal training in elementary and high school, and eventually gravitated toward singer-songwriters such as Joni Mitchell and Carole King. As a freshman at Kent State, she took up the guitar and started writing her own songs.

Her college job did more than just help pay the bills. The soft-spoken Toussant landed an internship at WKSU-FM, Kent State’s public radio outlet, working for long-time folk personality Jim Blum. With access to a huge library of folk and acoustic music, Toussant soaked it up like a sponge.

“I was always checking out new performers, as well as classic artists such as Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne,” Toussant said. “I just delved deep into the music.”

Toussant began writing more, and started playing coffee shops, open mics, art galleries and bars – basically wherever she could find an audience. But a year after graduating from Kent State in 2006, Toussant was ready for a change. She headed to Chicago, where she was introduced to Jim Tullio, a two-time Grammy Award-winner, who produced her first recording, All Songs in English, a five-song EP released in 2008.

Toussant’s music puts her beautiful high-register vocals front and center over sweet melodies, with subtle country and Americana-style instrumentation. It’s a sound that is both old and new, and it draws in the listener.

Since moving back to Kent in 2009, Toussant has been playing regularly with a band, which will accompany her at the Kent Stage show. “I really like folk music but oftentimes I don’t feel too folky,” Toussant said. “I think I offer a different kind of sound.” 

Lately, Toussant has been reaching back further than the ‘60s and ‘70s for inspiration, back to the Great American Songbook. “I’ve always gravitated towards strong singers, and lately I’ve been listening to folks such as Doris Day and others who sang great standards.”

Toussant is now recording her first full-length CD, featuring 10 original songs and one Henry Mancini cover. The title Sweetheart refers not only to love (Toussant does currently have a sweetheart of her own) but also to the bygone era of glamourous Hollywood screen legends.

Increasingly, indie musicians such as Toussant are utilizing social media and websites such as Indie Go Go to help fund their recordings. Toussant set a goal of $1,500 to help pay for her new CD, and to date has raised nearly $1,900 online. Contributions from friends and fans at live shows have brought the total to approximately $2,500.

With this kind of grassroots approach, the new record is very a much a DIY affair. The self-produced effort is being recorded at a friend’s studio in Kent. But that may change.

Last month, Toussant opened two concerts (including one at the Akron Civic Theatre) for Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Don Williams.  Williams’ tour manager was impressed with her performances, and indicated that he might be able to help out with her new recording.

At the end of the April, Toussant is heading to Nashville to meet with some of Williams’ people. “With these contacts I’m hoping to have something bigger happen with it, and to have the support of people who are deeper in the music industry,” Toussant said.

She knows that a career as a musician can be a tough calling, and she already has had plenty of experiences – good and bad – that underscore that fact.

“It’s a crazy world where one day you can be playing for maybe 15 people, and a couple of days later you’re playing for an audience of more than 900,” she said laughing. Toussant is hoping to land more gigs opening up for touring regional and national artists.

But her goals remain relatively modest. “I would like to travel, meet new people and play my music for a bigger audience,” Toussant said. “I’m not looking to be famous, I would just like to sing for a living. Thus far the response has been great, and it makes me want to keep doing what I’m doing.”

Tickets for the Kent Stage show are $8, $5 for students, and will be available at the door.