Alpena native Brendon MacNeill, the budding country music artist who goes by Brendon Mac, is set to release his first original single on Sept. 19. Mac is seen here on the album cover of "God's Promise," a ballad dedicated to his late mom.

ALPENA — Alpena native Brendon MacNeill, the budding country music artist who goes by Brendon Mac, is set to release his first original single next month.

The song, titled “God’s Promise,” is a ballad that Mac says is a memorial gift to his mother, Carol, and expresses the love, thoughts, and memories he still has for her today.

The tune is slated to be released on most music streaming platforms on Sept. 19.

“God’s Promise” is produced by Michael Flanders, who also co-wrote the song. Flanders and his family have a history of strong ties and connections in the country music industry and are working with Mac to help push his career to the next level.

Mac said he has always wanted to write, record, and perform a song dedicated to his mother and “God’s Promise” is just that. He said the birth of the song was very emotional for him, and in the end that was a good thing because his emotions were captured in the recordings.

“She got me started in music and this song honors her,” Mac said. “The night before I recorded it, I watched videos from her funeral and looked at old photos and when I woke up in the morning, I felt at peace and calm. I took the urn that my mother and father’s ashes are in and had it in the recording booth, so they were with me through it all. Having them there was comforting and when I got done with the last take, I had tears streaming down my face. It was very emotional for me.”

Before moving to Nashville late in 2024, Mac and his wife Linda lived in Colorado. They moved to Tennessee to add a jolt to Mac’s musical ambitions and to better market and promote his music and more easily connect with industry bigwigs.

In 2023, Mac released a pair of singles while living in Colorado. His first release was a rockabilly version of Johnny Cash’s smash hit “Ring of Fire.” Only a few months after its release, it registered over a half a million plays on Spotify and, as of Wednesday, has been streamed more than 1.1 million times.

Later in 2023, Mac released a version of “Rock This Town” which was a hit for the band The Stray Cats and Mac made a video in Alpena to accompany the song’s release. That song has garnered more than 230,000 listens on Spotify alone.

Those totals do not include downloads and streams from other platforms that also make the songs available.

After moving to Nashville, Mac said he reinvented himself and has moved away from the rockabilly side of his music and persona. He said Brendon Mac 2.0 will be more pure-country focused, but his music will still include a harder edge.

“I am still going to rock,” he said.

It won’t take long after the release of “God’s Promise” for Mac to release another new song. He said he believes the song “Hunt It” and its rocking and catchy music and hunting themed lyrics will help him achieve another level of success. He said the plan now is to release the song in November in time for deer hunting season in Michigan so people can play it at camp or even through earphones while in their hunting blinds.

“I am super excited for people to hear it,” he said. Unlike ‘God’s Promise,'” this one is going to rock, and I am super proud of it.”

Mac said besides his two new singles, he has five other original songs in the hopper and they will be released in the coming months. He said he is currently putting together a portfolio that includes three solid original songs, with pictures, short videos and a full bio. When that is complete he intends to pitch himself, with the help of his team, to promoters, managers, and agents. When one is hired, he intends to do a radio interview tour in states like Texas, which is another hotbed for country music, to widen his audience, before returning to Nashville to put the finishing touches on his band and begin the process of scheduling a tour.

Mac said that is the plan, and although it will take time, travel, and a hint of luck, he is confident the path forward gives him the best path for success.

“We have a strategy and we are being very deliberate,” he said. “We can’t bull rush this. We are going to be very calculated and it is a one step at a time process.”

Mac said he intends to return to Alpena for Thanksgiving and he will be on a float during the annual holiday parade. He said he is excited to return home and spend time with his friends and family.

“It is my home and it will always be my home,” he said. “No matter where I live or where my life takes me, Alpena will always be my home and I will always love it.”

Steve Schulwitz can be reached at 989-358-5689 or sschulwitz@TheAlpenaNews.com. Follow him on X @ss_alpenanews.com.