This story was excerpted from Jake Rill’s Orioles Beat newsletter. To read the full newsletter, click here. And subscribe to get it regularly in your inbox.
HOUSTON -- A self-proclaimed “old soul,” Brandon Young has musical taste unlike most 26-year-olds. The Orioles right-hander warms up before home starts to “Power of Soul” by Jimi Hendrix. He has Led Zeppelin logos tattooed down the back of his right arm. His Spotify playlists are filled with classic rock.
“It’s like the actual true music. Like nowadays, it's just … I don't know,” Young said. “They didn't make it how it once was.”
So, how did this affinity for electric guitars, old-time music and rock and roll begin? It’s quite simple.
When Young was a youngster growing up in Lumberton, Texas -- back when he was traveling to Houston's Daikin Park as an Astros fan and before he was nearly throwing a perfect game there -- his dad, Cary, drove him all around the state (and sometimes farther) to baseball tournaments in the late 2000s. Cary was in control of the radio in his ‘09 Toyota Tacoma, as Brandon listened to songs he had never heard.
One memory still sticks vividly in Brandon’s mind -- a drive to Ford Park in Beaumont during which Cary played “Fooling Yourself (The Angry Young Man)” by Styx. It was a song repeated many times in the years that followed.
The truck owned by Cary now belongs to Brandon -- who made it a goal to drive it to his first MLB start, which he accomplished on April 19 in Baltimore.
Those wheels weren’t the only thing passed down from father to son, as Brandon can credit his father for his musical taste.
“More at the time, I probably didn’t like it as much. It was just like the bond,” the younger Young said. “And then, as I got into high school, I was like, ‘Wow, I actually really like that music.’”
It’s not only Styx, Hendrix and Zeppelin. Young also listens to Pink Floyd, The Eagles and more. Last year, Young warmed up to a different Hendrix song -- “Purple Haze” -- the guitar riffs helping to power him to the Orioles’ 2024 Minor League Pitcher of the Year Award.
Young also plans to get more music-inspired tattoos in the future, perhaps something related to Hendrix or Pink Floyd to accompany his Zeppelin-themed body art.
This young-yet-old head has to know how to play guitar himself, right?
“Yeah, I play guitar. I'm OK,” Young said. “I started really playing when I had Tommy John [surgery] in '22. Right after I could move my arm, I got a guitar and really started practicing. And to this day, it's kind of therapeutic, honestly. Coming back home from the field, just kind of picking it up and playing whatever pops in my head kind of calms me down a little bit.”
The songs strummed by Young skew more toward the country side, which is unsurprising for a Texan. He can play tunes by George Strait, Waylon Jennings, The Charlie Daniels Band, and then also some of his classic rock favorites as well.
However, Young listens to a bit of modern stuff, including songs by Khruangbin, a trio from Houston that plays music heavily influenced by classic rock and soul music. He learned of the group via a recommendation from a friend, though he’ll also sometimes peruse the suggested music on Spotify.
“It's basically all guitar. It's got an electric, a bass and drums. There’s really not much singing in it,” Young said. “So, kind of like instrumental funk.”
Some eagle-eyed O’s fans might have already known about Young’s Khruangbin fandom.
That colorful, eccentric T-shirt Young wore in postgame interviews on MASN following his first few big league starts? It’s a piece of Khruangbin merchandise.
Young’s shirt caught the attention of many on social media, who aren’t used to seeing players wear anything like it during on-camera interviews. But Young had no idea -- he doesn’t use social media. Unsurprising for a guy who reverted to a flip phone for several years in the Minors before returning to a smartphone during the offseason prior to the 2024 season.
“My dad said he liked it,” Young said of the shirt. “I don't even know if he knows the band.”
There is one outlier among Young’s musical catalog -- 2Pac. He even used the late rapper’s “Holla At Me” as a warmup song during his time at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
Believe it or not, the 2Pac inspiration came from Young’s dad, too.
“He popped in 2Pac just to kind of get with the times, I guess,” a smiling Young said.
But don’t expect the younger Young to “get with the times” musically anytime soon.