UMSL alumnus and soul musician Brian Owens performs ‘Stand By Me’ on TODAY with his father

by | Jun 20, 2023

The duo also held a Father's Day concert at the Touhill while promoting new album "Duets With Dad," coming out this fall.
Brian Owens and his father perform on TODAY

Singers Thomas (left) and Brian Owens perform “Stand By Me” on TODAY. (Screenshot)

A decade after going viral for their cover of Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come” in June 2013, soul musician Brian Owens and his father, Thomas, are still going strong with their duets.

Just in time for Father’s Day, Owens and his father appeared on TODAY on Friday, June 16, to promote their new album, “Duets With Dad,” coming out this fall. The pair also performed together at a special Father’s Day concert on Sunday at the Blanche M. Touhill Performing Arts Center.

Although Owens would eventually go on to earn a degree in music from the University of Missouri–St. Louis in 2008 and find professional success as a musician, he didn’t grow up singing with his father in church like his older brothers did.

“It wasn’t until my mid-20s that I started singing with my dad,” Owens told TODAY hosts Hoda Kotb and Jenna Bush Hager. “I grew up around the singing, but I didn’t really sing.”

The duo then performed a cover of “Stand By Me” as part of the show’s ongoing Citi Music Series.

Watch the segment here.

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