In his daily vocation as a finance and accounting consultant with the Institute for Public Service’s Municipal Technical Advisory Service, Brad Harris journeys across southeast Tennessee advising cities on their financial practices. Before settling into this role, he traveled the country performing in 25 U.S. states as a gospel singer.
He sang at the Grand Old Opry, Silver Dollar City, during the National Quartet Convention and in numerous concert halls across America.
“I always had a love for singing, beginning as a young boy,” he says. “My whole family either played instruments or sang, so it wasn’t an option to join in when the family got together around the piano.”
Singing at home led to him joining the chorus in high school and then men’s choral groups while a student at Cleveland State Community College and at Tennessee Tech University.
With his degree in hand, he moved to Middle Tennessee and soon captured the ear of a former member of the Southern gospel Speer Family in Nashville. They recommended him to a local group in McMinnville, and he eventually earned an audition with the Plainsmen, a famed gospel quartet that had relocated to Nashville.
“At this point, I had to make a decision—stay in my accounting career or test the waters to see what full-time singing would afford,” Harris says.
He decided to take a chance.
During his career, he sang with Ricky Skaggs, Connie Smith, Alison Krauss, Jason Crabb and many others.
“The dream of sharing the stage with the biggest names in the industry became reality,” he says. “To the casual observer, this may seem like a great life, but I soon realized that it takes a toll on your family and on your body. Many thousands of miles, long hours of driving and hoping to find a phone booth to talk to your family. After about three years of life on the road, I decided that it was time to return to my career as an accountant.”
However, he did not quit singing.
Harris still sings regionally with The Testimony Quartet as well as with his wife. In 2025, he collaborated with two others to honor legendary gospel group The Sentinels from the 1970s and 1980s. He traveled to Detroit to record an album, which was recently named one of the top five gospel music releases for 2025.
In 2014, Harris was inducted into the Tri-State Gospel Music Hall of Fame in recognition of his contributions to the industry over his lifetime.
Harris sees a correlation between singing and serving cities.
“A primary goal in my life is to make a difference to others. That may be through an uplifting song, or it may be by mentoring a new finance officer in a city and teaching them how to be the best employee they can be,” he says. “Both bring a smile to someone’s face and in different ways each gives a measure of hope and encouragement.”
