About - The Brooke Leigh Davis Experience

Say Hello to
Brooke Leigh

Singer | Actor | Entertainer | Arts Administrator

“As a kid I was surrounded by people who could sing and play instruments. I would like to say that I was encouraged to try other things, but the more I think about it I really don’t believe that to be true. So as much as I think that I had a real choice in what I wanted to do with my life, God and my Mom had discussed it and decided that wasn’t so.”

– Brooke Leigh Davis

Growing up in a musical home, the arts was a natural career choice but not always a welcome one. From St. Paul, Minnesota, one could always find Brooke near her mother’s side, a well-known jazz singer in Minnesota and beyond. Singing came naturally, and as a result, you would eventually see Brooke on stage testing the waters in many genres.

A story often told was that Brooke could whistle before she could walk or talk. It wasn’t until moving to Nashville, Tennessee, to attend Tennessee State University that Brooke found her Space – in Opera.

While finding the voice God wanted her to have, Brooke discovered theater and continued to sing other forms of music to define the voice that is uniquely hers.

After years of studying music and a discovered love for the organizational process, Brooke surprised many and decided upon a Management and Human Relations degree from Trevecca Nazarene University.

This educational change in direction did not stop Brooke from performing. If anything, she decided to do more. As she continued to sing and act, she put her degree to work in youth arts programming and administration in the nonprofit sector. Soon, she would resolve to follow God’s call for her life. Not knowing what direction this would take, she gave up ‘regular’ jobs and went to work as a full-time artist. This shift led to the ultimate step of faith. Brooke packed what she could in a truck and, without a plan, moved to Phoenix, Arizona.

Brooke comes to Arizona with more than 35 years experience as a performing artist and 20 years in nonprofit management to develop Behind the Velvet Curtain, LLC, an entertainment and arts management company, She Kicks Karate, a karate program for women and girls, and The Artists Quarter, a comprehensive performing and creative arts program in South Phoenix focused on developing and sustaining artists.

Bringing the arts to South Phoenix is built upon a single idea: The arts should be accessible for everyone.

The Why of The Vision

As the daughter of a performer, I was exposed to a lot. My mother made sure I had access to dance lessons (that didn’t really stick), music lessons, karate classes, you name it. I remember going to concerts, traveling a lot, and meeting a lot of artists.

I don’t remember too many vacations.

What I do remember is piano lessons, percussion lessons (because I really wanted to play drums), the occasional voice lesson, and lots of choirs and ensembles to sing in. A strong support of my involvement in the arts.

Music is in my spirit. I can’t get away from it. Many artists feel this way so it can be hard when all you want to do is sing, or dance, or paint and people around you don’t consider it a career.

Some people are encouraged to pursue other better paying careers. Then there’s me. I think because everyone in my family was born with this it was something that we did. But, no one told me what that really meant.

What I learned is that living as an artist takes a village – especially if you choose the artist’s life. The pay isn’t always enough without ‘survival jobs.’

The navigation of our own mental health when the call backs don’t result in getting the contract or when that band falls apart and its slow to find the next thing. I have friends who wanted to do “that thing” and had no support from home to do it but they found a way.

No one should have to feel like they are doing it alone. No one should have questions and not know where to get them. Or not be able to pay for the answers. Because no matter how free Google may be our situations and our paths are different.

My path wasn’t easy. By the time I figured out what I wanted to do it was sort of too late. Although, wanting to do and supposed to do are not always the same. (Read a blog post that I may or may not have published – depending upon when you see this!)

All of that to say, The Artists Quarter is the answer to all my questions that went unanswered. The support that my friends needed when they were told not to be that dancer, that actor, that artist because they wouldn’t be able to make a living. The thing that is available for kids to have access to in order to discover that tap shoes are cool.