Lincoln Brewster

Lincoln Brewster (born July 30, 1971) is an American contemporary Christian musician and worship pastor. As a guitarist, singer, and songwriter, Brewster became a sought-after session guitarist in the early 1990s. He is the former senior worship pastor at Bayside Church in Granite Bay, California.

Since early childhood in Homer, Alaska, Brewster has been a musician. At the age of one, his mother, Cheryl, noticed that he could keep rhythm on a drum set his grandfather had given him. At the age of five, his mother introduced him to the mandolin. Quickly mastering the instrument, he began playing for cruise ship tourists alongside his mother in Homer. Brewster’s step brothers include John and Andy Hillstrand from the Discovery TV show Deadliest Catch.

By the time he was 12, Brewster had a band called Lincoln and the Missing Links, which included his mother on bass and vocals. In his late teens, he moved with his family to Modesto, California where he attended Grace M. Davis High School and joined the high school jazz band (playing guitar and drums) and marching band (playing snare drum).

Due to connections he found in Los Angeles, he was offered a record contract when he was 19. Feeling an emptiness in his life, Brewster attended church services with his girlfriend, Laura. He recalls feeling God drawing him close after attending a drama ministry performance with Laura. “I was afraid to lay down a lot of things in my life,” he said. “One night, I laid all my cards on the table. I asked the Lord to come into my life, all by myself. It was the best night of sleep I’d ever had. I was very peaceful. I think that was what enabled me to blow off that record deal.” He was referring to the offer he was extended.

After receiving a call from Steve Perry inviting him to audition as lead guitarist for his solo project For the Love of Strange Medicine, Brewster accepted; he began songwriting and rehearsals for the album. His guitar technique, tone, and equipment choices possessed similar qualities and texturing to Journey’s Neal Schon, and it was touted as a favorable feature in Perry’s album. He married Laura and soon afterwards toured with Perry for six months from 1994 to early 1995.

At the end of the tour, Brewster moved back to Modesto to be with his wife where they attended Calvary Temple Church. After working as a sound technician for the church for a while, the senior pastor offered Brewster the position of associate music director and youth worship leader. In 1997, the Brewsters moved to Nashville to serve as youth pastors and eventually as full-time music ministers at The Oasis Church. There, Lincoln Brewster met with executives from Integrity Incorporated who were working on a new Hosanna! Music album. After seeing his guitar-playing ability, one executive listened to a demo project Brewster had produced. Already impressed with the production work and artistry, he learned that Brewster had played every instrument and performed all the vocals himself. In 2001, Brewster became the worship pastor at Bayside Church in Granite Bay. He was signed to Integrity’s Vertical Music label with whom he released five albums between 1999 and 2006.

While working on his self-titled album (with producer Paul Mills), Brewster worked with label-mate Darrell Evans, contributing vocals, guitar, and co-writing on Evans’ Freedom project. Brewster performed with Michael W. Smith during Smith’s 1998 Live the Life tour. Brewster’s second album, Live to Worship (produced by Jeff Quimby and co-produced by Brewster), was released in 2000. According to his biography on his official website, “Lincoln now combines his talents and determination to record songs that will minister to a new generation of believers.” Brewster’s album, Today Is the Day, was released on September 23, 2008. The album’s first released single, was the title track “Today Is the Day”.

On September 22, 2009, Brewster released a deluxe edition of Today Is the Day consisting of a CD with the same songs as Today Is the Day as well as a DVD containing two music videos, a few song stories, and a part of his instructional video. He released his latest project, Real Life, on September 28, 2010. The record features upbeat, contemporary worship tracks such as “Best Days” and the optimistic “Reaching For You”. It also includes contemplative radio-ready songs such as the title track “Real Life”, and the rhythmic “Whom Shall I Fear”.

In 2012, Brewster released his first Christmas album, Joy to the World. A deluxe edition was released on November 5, 2013, with seven new tracks and an additional DVD.
In 2014 Brewster released Oxygen, his ninth studio album after signing with Integrity Music after 15 years. He said the music had a “new sound”, which explained the album’s high sense of modern pop music with many riffs and guitar solos. In 2015, Lincoln Brewster released his first rendition of “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a surprise on the USA’s Independence Day holiday. He was a part of the Winter Jam Tour 2015 West Coast. His most recent releases are God of the Impossible in 2018, A Mostly Acoustic Christmas in 2019, and Perfect Love in 2021.

Brewster primarily uses two different 1957 specification reissue Fender Stratocasters with DiMarzio pickups, one with Aztec Gold finish and the other with pearl Olympic white finish with both having an Ash body and maple fingerboard and neck. They have vintage looking tuners that are actually locking and a special active mid-boost circuit so that the single coil pickups can be made to sounds more like PAF humbuckers. Fender released his Artist signature model Stratocaster in August 2019.

Brewster achieves his live tone solely from a Line 6 POD HD500 unit. He occasionally uses a provided amp for stage noise only and goes direct to the PA system with the floor POD. Brewster also uses a Kemper Profiler amplifier live and in his home studio. He recently said in a live Facebook video that he recorded “No One Like Our God (One Take)” on the Line 6 Helix Native program directly from his guitar.

• Lincoln Brewster Official Website biography
• Vertical Music profile for Lincoln Brewster