Farmington Teen to Perform Original Song at ‘Relay for Life’

By Lisa Lenkiewicz

When those who have battled or are battling cancer join together for the “Remember” ceremony at Saturday’s “Relay for Life” in Farmington, they will be serenaded by the sweet sounds of local singer/songwriter Brooke Tomlinson.

Tomlinson has written the music and lyrics to a song she will perform on May 18 at Farmington High School. The song was partly inspired by the American Cancer Society’s annual event, and also by her father Doug, who survived a cancer bout with soft tissue sarcoma, Tomlinson told Patch in a recent phone interview.

She is looking forward to the Relay for Life all-night event.  She has participated for several years and this year is a team co-captain. Last year, she was asked to sing and performed Martina McBride’s “I’m Gonna Love You Through It.” This year, attendees will hear her original song, at approximately 4 p.m.

Her song—“Together”—is a touching ballad about staying strong and fighting cancer. The chorus sums it up:

Together we'll walk, together we'll fight
I'm gonna carry you through it tonight
So don't be afraid, grab onto my hand
When you feel you're falling, I promise we'll stand
Together

To listen to Tomlinson's original song on YouTube, click on the link provided.

On her Facebook page, the talented musician has written: “I believe that many people can relate to this song because the disease affects us all in some way, whether it be through first-hand experience or the experience of watching somebody else go through it. I believe there will be a cure some day.”

Tomlinson, 18, a senior at Farmington High School, appears to be on her way to stardom.  She recently recorded an EP (extended play) of five of her songs in a professional studio in Orlando. She has two managers, one of whom was a vice president at Atlantic Records.

The pop artist plans to attend Belmont University in Nashville to study music business and songwriting. But first, she will take a gap year in Los Angeles, living with her manager, performing and working on writing more songs.

“My goal is to get a record deal. Going to LA and recording demos will give me a large body of songs to take to a record label,” explained Tomlinson, who said her voice has most often been compared to singer Taylor Swift.

Johnny O, of WZBG /FM 97.3 in Litchfield, is long-time friend of Tomlinson’s and recently interviewed her for his radio show “Backstage with Johnny O.” In a podcast of the show, he notes Tomlinson “is on a steady course to be the next big thing.”

The focused and accomplished teen writes the music and lyrics to her songs and plays guitar and piano. She and three male friends have a band (Brooke Tomlinson and The Simpletons) and have performed at Blue Back Square in West Hartford and at local gigs. She also performed at Googies lounge in New York in 2011.

Recently, she starred in her high school production of “Footloose” (she played the lead, Ariel) and has been in other musical productions. At the age of eight, she appeared on stage in the Thomaston Opera House production of “The Sound of Music.”

Who are her musical inspirations?

She names Taylor Swift, Pink, and an older Katy Perry as artists whose sounds she enjoys. Eddie Van Halen is another favorite—she loves playing his challenging electric guitar solos, which she says are “different and fun.” Storytelling plays a large role in her songs, as she uses her life experiences for her lyrics.

But her biggest influences have been the members of her family—dad Doug’s hobby is songwriting, mom Trish supports her endeavors and her older sister Taylor has sung duets with Brooke.

“My sister is an inspiration as a person,” Tomlinson lovingly remarks.

She hopes readers will visit her fan page (www.brooketomlinson.com) and hit "like" to help increase her demographics and fan base.