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Tag: ryn weaver

Show Preview: Ryn Weaver at Park West [11/12]

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Back in January, I had the privilege of naming Ryn Weaver to my Class of 2015 project. In case you’re too lazy to click that link, the basic idea is that each year I choose 10 rising artists and closely follow their growth and progress for the next 365 days. My track record is pretty strong, and while nobody will likely ever top the run that Class of 2014 alumnus Sam Smith had last year, a few 2015-ers are holding their own so far. Ryn Weaver is arguably at the top of the pile right now, for a couple different reasons I’ll explain in detail.

First, there’s her debut album The Fool. It came out this summer and is a collection of fun, quality pop songs worth checking out if you haven’t already. More importantly, the record proved the hype behind her first single wasn’t a fluke. Her talents extend well beyond “OctaHate” to showcase introspective lyrics and a powerful vocal range that’ll make your eyes widen and jaw drop. Many wise radio programmers have picked up on this, and provided her some strong exposure on Top 40 and Pop stations around the world. That translates to a growing fan base.

Second, there’s her live show. Weaver performed at every major U.S. music festival this summer, including Coachella, Bonnaroo and Lollapalooza. I was fortunate enough to not only catch her set at Lolla, but an additional aftershow she headlined the night before. Yes, she’s got incredible stage presence and knows how to work a crowd. While there’s a certain element of predictability to her set given she has only released an album and an EP so far in her young career, each song takes on a unique and distinctive life apart from the recorded versions in large part because she performs with a full band. That’s unique for someone who makes pop music, where synthetic backing tracks and overdubs are commonplace on stage. She believes that live performances should be fully LIVE, and they’re all the better because of it. Her vocals only get better too, showcasing an elasticity that goes even beyond what you hear on record.

Third, she loves her fans. I’ve seen plenty of performers go out of their way to stick around after the show and sell/sign merch, which is always nice even though most of the time they just want to make a sale. When I saw Weaver back in August, she didn’t hang out at the merch booth, but instead greeted adoring fans outside of her tour bus. For over an hour. She not only took the time to sign everything people wanted signed, but she took lots of selfies and had lengthy, genuine conversations that arguably lasted a little too long. It took her about 90 minutes to make it through a line of about 20-25 people, so everyone got a highly personal and engaging experience with her. Not sure I’ve ever seen someone display that level of commitment to fans, which really speaks to the kind of person she is.

If you’ll be in Chicago on Thursday, November 12th, you can experience the magic and wonder of Ryn Weaver in person when she plays a show at Park West. It will likely be a wonderful evening, filled with great music and quality opening sets from ASTR and Holychild. The show is all ages and starts at 7, so it should be extra high energy and fun. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in advance here. Hope to see you there!

The Class of 2015: 10 Artists to Watch

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It seems like I say this every year, but there’s absolutely no way that the Class of 2015 will be able to top the Class of 2014 in terms of overall success. If you’re looking at statistics and equations, it’s pretty much a mathematical impossibility. And you know what? That’s perfectly okay. In fact, I’ve gone out of my way to select artists for this year’s class who will probably not catapult to the top of the charts and get nominated for copious amounts of Grammys. It’s never been a popularity contest, even if some of the artists have become massively popular anyways. The goal of the “Class of…” project is to shine a light onto bands and musicians who are deserving and likely to receive strong raises in their profiles over the course of any given calendar year. The expectation is that they have the talent and promise to do great things, of course whether or not they actually accomplish them is another matter entirely, as a few have turned out to be duds or late bloomers. Either way, all of the 10 artists named are kept under careful watch by yours truly, and you’ll be able to find out about their latest and greatest happenings for the next 12 months right here on the site with periodic updates as to their progress.

I’m tremendously excited to reveal the Class of 2015 below. While the goal is to offer up a diverse array of talents across many different genres, I couldn’t help but notice a small theme with a majority of this year’s class. Should projections prove true, 2015 will be a big year for 70’s style folk singer-songwriters. If David Bowie’s glam rock era helped define 2014’s main sound, the intimate and personal songs of Nick Drake and Harry Nilsson may be where we’re headed next. I mean, if Sufjan Stevens can pop his head up from wherever he’s been hiding to announce a new album that’s a “return to his folk roots,” then like the groundhog it must be a signal of things to come. Rest assured though that everything below is not exclusively for bedroom headphone listening. So without further ado, let’s jump right in and meet the Class of 2015!

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