Author Archives: Piper Westrom
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ALBUM REVIEW: Little Big Town gets brave and vulnerable with ‘Nightfall’
After two decades of highs, lows and heartbreak, Nashville quartet Little Big Town has seen both the best and the worst of what music industries has to offer. With experience under their belts, the band turned inward for its eighth studio album, Nightfall, which the members produced independently. Nightfall…
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PHOTOS: AJR transforms Bill Graham Civic into a “Neotheater”
AJR performs at the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 2019. Photos: Gary Chancer. SAN FRANCISCO – AJR came out swinging on Saturday night as they transformed the Bill Graham Civic Auditorium into its own “Neotheater,” filled with brotherly love and unparalleled dance moves. As…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Tori Kelly ‘Inspired by True Events’ on third LP
Tori Kelly, “Inspired by True Events.” With a voice as powerful as singer-songwriter Tori Kelly’s, it only makes sense for it to pour out of the radio so often. She took a few months away from music due to a number of events in her personal life, which reflects…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Justin Moore melds old with new on ‘Late Nights and Longnecks’
Country singer-songwriter Justin Moore is back with Late Nights and Longnecks—his fifth album—proving that returning to your songwriting roots doesn’t always mean treading water. He gained inspiration from the same small Florida beach where he wrote his debut and it paid off. With a couple of good friends and a few…
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INTERVIEW: AJR looks to the holy land, the past and origins of governance
AJR Before breaking out with their single “Weak,” brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met of AJR had their fair share of bad days. With many failed label meetings and empty bars under their belts, the band now looks back on those days as wonderful fuel for the future. BottleRock…
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ALBUM REVIEW: AJR balances familiar and fresh on ‘Neotheater’
After more than a year of touring and a deluxe release of their widely successful 2017 album, The Click, AJR is back with Neotheater, a clear sign of artist maturation. It displays the hard work brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met put in to bring audiences a developed sound while maintaining the lively horns, heavy…
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INTERVIEW: Whiskey Myers just ‘good ol’ boys’ playin’ music all year long
Whiskey Myers. Courtesy: Chris Poage Just how deep do Southern roots run through through Texas country and roots rockers Whiskey Myers? When frontman Cody Cannon recently got married, he had only one request, courtesy of Will Farrell and Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Whiskey Myers 7 p.m., Friday, Apr.…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Deerhunter paints bleakly modern picture on latest LP
Deerhunter‘s latest offering, Why Hasn’t Everything Already Disappeared?, provides a refreshingly cohesive narrative by the Atlanta indie rock band for current times. The record not only tackles the struggle of fading individualism in Western society due to oversharing on social media (and the media in general), but discusses the prospect of eternity in…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Van Morrison adopts spiritual jazz on ‘The Prophet Speaks’
Van Morrison, “The Prophet Speaks.” After 39 studio albums, Van Morrison manages to blend jazzy covers and soulful originals for his latest offering, The Prophet Speaks. Where roughly half of the album is an ode to classic artists like J.D. Harris and Sam Cooke, the rest takes Van Morrison back…
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ALBUM REVIEW: Mumford & Sons search for evolution with ‘Delta’
Since the release of Wilder Mind in 2015, Mumford & Sons have experimented with breaking out of their folk rock bubble. Their new album, Delta, positions itself as a somewhat experimental, yet entirely familiar, addition to the band’s discography. If Wilder Mind made a stab toward Top 40 alt-rock, Delta doesn’t quite…