Southeast alumnus Brese Squires returns to Cape as opening act in concert

In elementary school, a young Brese Squires was told by his music teacher he had a great voice. Like most children, he didn't take much notice of the compliment, but years later, as Squires began to get older, he realized the teacher may have been right all along.

"Once I got older and started practicing and really enhancing my voice, I realized I may have something there. I thought it was something I really wanted to do," Squires said.

Growing up in his hometown of Cape Girardeau, Squires' uncle gave him a nickname that would stick and he later would use professionally.

"My real name is Brese, but an uncle of mine would give me the nickname 'Cool Breeze,'" Squires said. "But I took the 'Cool' off and kept the 'Breeze' because there was already an artist by that name. That was always a nickname given to me, and I just kept it as a stage name. "

"Breeze" would catch the singing bug in 1992. When he was a student at Southeast, fraternities and sororities had talent shows around campus, and Squires would enter them as a singer.

"I did a talent show for the Phi Beta Sigmas at the Academic Hall. From then on, I knew this was something I wanted to do as a career," Squires said.

Squires was influenced by many types of music, but he stuck with his favorite genre: R&B.

"I had many musical influences growing up. I enjoyed listening to Michael Jackson," Squires said. "R&B is focused a lot on relationships, and that is what most of my music is based on."

Squires got his first break in St. Louis when a producer approached him in 2001.

He released his first album, "In Love with Destiny," in 2010. His music spread across the United States and overseas on the radio.

"My music was played on many forms of Internet radio over the years and also parts of Holland and all over Europe. I released my first song in the early 2000s and have been pursuing my music career for 14 years now," Squires said.

Squires said he also shot one of the first music videos in the Cape Girardeau area when he filmed a production of his song "I Wanna Know" in 2005.

"I shot the video in different areas of Cape. It was really big because with Cape being a college town, it was something that they had never experienced before, and I think it opened some doors," Squires said.

"Breeze" will return to his roots of Cape Girardeau when he performs as the concert opener for J. Holiday at 7 p.m. March 28 at the Arena Building.

Squires was approached by Lamecha Henderson and saw it as a big opportunity to get his name out and be noticed.

"I've done a lot of shows and performances over the past 14 years, but this is my first opportunity to open up for a major concert. I'm really happy for the opportunity, and it feels as if my hard work has finally paid off," Squires said.