War Hippies, otherwise known as Scooter Brown and Donnie Reis, visited KYGO’s Performance Studio to perform “Killin’ It,” “Like Father Like Daughter” and “The Hangman.” Brown and Reis joined forces in 2022 due to their shared experience as both military and music veterans, hence the name of the group. Once both traded in their weapons for microphones, guitars and fiddles, and established themselves separately in the music world, War Hippies was born, which is what they consider to be a “country music duo and lifestyle brand.” Scooter Brown has what some might describe as a ‘colorful past.’ Born in Nebraska, the country rocker’s family moved to Colorado when he was in fourth grade, pivoted to Michigan for a half-year stint, then moved back to the Centennial State until he joined the US Marines. During his four years in the military, Brown spent two tours overseas and a tour of combat in Iraq, which is when he began writing songs. After Brown made the decision to commit to a career in music, in 2009, the Scooter Brown Band was formed and made a name for themselves playing in and around Houston. The modern southern rock band quickly found success, opening for their inspirations including The Charlie Daniels Band, Marshall Tucker Band, Lee Roy Parnell, Travis Tritt and Dwight Yoakam, among others. In 2017, Rolling Stone highlighted the band in their “10 New Country Artists You Need to Know: December 2017” rundown, and the group continued their momentum and solidified themselves as a fixture in the country music scene when they made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage in 2019. Brown may also be a familiar face to music television show fans, as he was a finalist on USA Network’s show “Real Country” in 2018, which featured music legends searching for the next big country artist. Reis, similarly, is an accomplished vocalist and instrumentalist who has spent years touring and playing a multitude of instruments: fiddle, piano, guitar and, most notably, violin. Reis is an accomplished veteran as well, having served in the US Army from 2001 to 2009, including a tour in Iraq. He can truthfully describe himself as a veteran, producer, owner, vocalist, instrumentalist, songwriter and composer. He has written for television/film projects and artists/groups from various genres. His resume includes 26 songs on the Billboard top 10s, two of which were number-one songs. He also owns and is the executive producer of 3 South Recording in Nashville. In October of 2022, War Hippies released their first album together, self-titled, which reached its peak position of number eight on the iTunes Country Chart. One of their songs from the record, “Make it Out Alive,” earned its way onto American Songwriter’s “Top 24 Songs of 2022” list. Although their lives of combat may be behind them, on top of their music-related achievements, the two make their commitment to the military community known through fundraising efforts and advocacy work. The duo is performing throughout the remainder of the year on tour, and, although War Hippies hasn’t released another full-length album since their first, they’ve consistently put out new music: singles “Loot for Good” and “No Friend of Mine” in 2023 and “So Sweet” and “Like Father Like Daughter” in 2024.
