After starting out in the vibrant Dublin Ballad scene of the mid-seventies he moved to Canada in 1979. His musical life in Montreal was marked by a very extended run at the Old Dublin Pub, a venue he still plays from time to time. For nearly 14 years his name was synonymous with the Old Dublin. During his tenure it was voted most popular pub in the city by the Montreal Mirror. He also headlined concerts at numerous acoustic venues across Canada and performed at several festivals that included the Winnipeg Folk Festival and the Lunenburg Folk Harbour Festival. In August of 2009 he performed in Quebec City as part of the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the unveiling on the Celtic Cross on Grosse Isle. In 1997 he performed on the Plains of Abraham in Quebec as part of the 150th anniversary of the Irish famine.

He has been based in St. Pete Beach, Florida for nearly 15 years and has been featured several times on WMNF Live in Tampa. Just recently he performed and was interviewed on Channel 10 (CBS affiliate) on their morning TV show Studio 10. He has performed at several festivals in the state including the Florida Folk Festival, Gamble Rogers Fest, and Wings and Strings. He has been a headliner at the North Texas Irish Festival in Dallas in 96, 99, and 2004. After playing the Milwaukee Irish festival in August 02, he was invited back for the 2003 festival. He has also been a headliner at the Jackson Celtic Festival, the Savannah and Newport Irish Festivals.

Brendan has six solo albums to his credit. His most recent recording is titled Song Brook. It was released in March of 07. It has an eclectic mix of material that includes ballads like The Mountains Of Pomeroy, Dan OHara, and Icarus, to comical songs like The Errant Apprentice, Paddy McGintys Goat, and A Bottle O The Best. There are also a couple of instrumentals on the disc; The Lark In The Clear Air and the original Twilight. His next to last recording, Where Do I Go From Here, released in 03, was well received by audiences and critics alike. The CD was mostly a showcase of original work. Standout songs include the title track Where Do I Go From Here and Old Ned, a story about one of the last milk-carts in Dublin city. It highlighted Nolan's gift for story-telling, which was also evident on his Emigration album Across The Great Divide. One of the tracks from that CD was titled Far From Their Home. It tells a harrowing story about Grosse Isle, an island burial ground in the St. Lawrence River near Quebec City for victims of the Irish Famine. The song was published in Sing Out! Magazine.