Local Teacher and Singer Recognizes Wood River In New Song

WOOD RIVER - Local singer-songwriter Charlie Brown has released a new song to pay homage to his hometown.

Brown grew up in Wood River before moving to Nashville to pursue a career as a songwriter. These days, he teaches at Civic Memorial High School in Bethalto and creates music. On Oct. 27, 2025, he released a new song called “Wood River Sunsets,” which features collaboration with former students.

“We just wanted to write something that meant something versus a commercial hit, so we did, and it turned out beautiful, in my humble opinion,” Brown said. “This is just a very personal album, and a lot of me is in the story. The more I put my truer self in there, my songs are just getting a better response. It’s kind of strange how it’s working like that.”

Brown is currently working on his sixth album project, titled “Parking Lot Prayers” after his first single, which he wrote to share the prayer he says for his students every morning. He believes this album will likely be his “favorite by far,” in part because his writing is more personal than ever before.

“Wood River Sunsets” details Brown’s reverence for his hometown. Brown grew up in “the last house in Wood River,” on the border between Wood River and Roxana. He highlighted Wood River as “a great place to grow up,” and his pride shines through in the single.

Like he always does, he originally sent the song to Nashville publishers to see if another singer was interested in recording it. The publishers responded that it was “too personal” and “not very commercial,” so Brown decided to record it himself. In fact, he believes the personal touch is what makes it good.

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“I feel like I’ve come a long way with, instead of trying to write songs that I think people would want to hear, I’ve just written songs that are just closer to my heart and how I feel,” he said. “And then I think the most important lesson I learned there was the more I dig inside of myself, those are the songs that have been resonating with people more often.”

He co-wrote “Wood River Sunsets” with Zak Ray, a former student, then worked with CM students Aubrey and Kaylea Falk to record harmonies. Kaylea sings the entire second verse as a duet. But while the students’ contributions mean a lot to Brown, he emphasized that their talent is what stands out most.

“It makes it more special,” he shared. “But honestly, I wouldn't ask them to do it if I didn’t think they were just extremely talented. I’m not just doing it to do it. They are really that good.”

As Brown continues work on his “Parking Lot Prayers” album, he hopes to share more singles in the coming months. He feels the writing is some of his most important work yet, and he is proud of the ways his teaching career is guiding the process. He hopes to continue writing personal, meaningful music that strikes a chord with people in the Riverbend region and beyond.

“I don’t think of Nashville as much as I used to when it comes to, ‘Are they going to like it?’ I just want to write songs that are truly who I am,” he added. “I’m just extremely excited for people to hear these songs.”

“Wood River Sunsets” is available on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and TikTok. Click here to listen to the song. Wholestreet Productions produced the lyric video.

For more information about Charlie Brown, visit his official website at CharlieBrownSongwriter.com or check out his TikTok page @CharlieBrownSongwriter.

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