Margot Edwards

Album Review: Odesza – A Moment Apart

Review by Erin Ober

ODESZA’s highly anticipated album, A Moment Apart, has finally been released, and it is everything you’ve been hoping for. Staying true to the classic synth sounds and production techniques they are known for, the electro-indie-pop duo, Harrison Mills and Clayton Knight, tell an incredibly cohesive story, which radiates an intense feeling of nostalgia. The album truly reflects the group’s artistic development and perspective over the years. The time they took to create A Moment Apart was essential in successfully telling the story, and setting the mood of the album. Continue reading “Album Review: Odesza – A Moment Apart”

Ben Sollee and Kentucky Native: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939, Friday, Sep 22 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

Ten years ago, Kentucky native Ben Sollee came to prominence by singing a Sam Cooke song while playing the cello. The NPR sensation was not some backwoods novelty. Sollee’s spare, exultant interpretation of “A Change is Gonna Come” announced the arrival of a relentlessly curious musical soul. In the decade following, Sollee recorded a slew of albums and EPs in a daunting variety of settings. He has played with trance bluesman Otis Taylor, banjo virtuosos Abigail Washburn and Bela Fleck, and has collaborated with Jim James of My Morning Jacket. Continue reading “Ben Sollee and Kentucky Native: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939, Friday, Sep 22 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE”

Ben Ottewell: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939, Wednesday, Sep 20 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

Ben Ottewell is a singer-songwriter from Chesterfield, England, and former member of the band Gomez.

“It was going to be called Bones That Catch the Light,” Ottewell said of his third solo album, “but when I mentioned that to friends they either sniggered like Beavis and Butthead or thought it was too wordy.” In the end, the Derbyshire-raised singer-songwriter opted for A Man Apart, a title with a pleasing ambiguity. Continue reading “Ben Ottewell: Live from the Red Room @ Cafe 939, Wednesday, Sep 20 at 8:00 pm on birnCORE”

Show Review: Jacob Collier

RISE Music Series at the Isabella Stuart Gardner Museum, Boston, MA, September 7, 2017

Review by Claire Marie Lim

As part of the RISE Music Series curated by Berklee alums Shea Rose and Simone Scazzocchio, British musical phenomenon Jacob Collier played to a full house at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. A two-time Grammy award winner and an exceptionally skilled multi-instrumentalist, writer, and producer, Collier presented a show filled with loops, live percussion, bass, guitar, keys, and his idiosyncratically harmonized voice – the epitome of a one-man band. Continue reading “Show Review: Jacob Collier”

Interview: Gabe Dixon discusses his Live in Boston album

Gabe Dixon Releases Live In Boston

Nashville-based singer-songwriter Gabe Dixon releases his new album, Live in Boston, on September 8, on BirnCORE. On the album, recorded at Berklee’s Red Room at Cafe 939 in September of 2016, Dixon delivers a blistering nine song solo set featuring some of his most popular songs, including “Crave,” “Flow Like Wine” and “All Will Be Well.”

We were fortunate to get Gabe to answer some of our questions about his career and the new release: Continue reading “Interview: Gabe Dixon discusses his Live in Boston album”

Album Review: Goo Goo Dolls – You Should Be Happy

Review by Michelle Schantz

When a band has been as successful and enduring as the Goo Goo Dolls have been, sometimes that success is accompanied by a weight of expectations. Both the band and their fans can feel this weight. It brings to light the fact that change is inevitable, but growth is a choice. Time will continue to move forward, and it’s up to the band whether or not to move forward as artists. This is the realization that Goo Goo Dolls singer, guitarist, and frontman John Rzeznik brought into the creation of the band’s 11^th studio album Boxes in 2016 and continues to carry into their newest 5 song EP, You Should Be Happy. Continue reading “Album Review: Goo Goo Dolls – You Should Be Happy”

This Week on BIRN Alive: Ben Higginbotham, Saturday, Aug 12 at 4:00 pm on birn1

Ben Higginbotham is a recording artist, songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist from Dallas, Texas. He is currently in his final semester at Berklee College of Music, and lives in Boston, but splits his time between New York and Nashville cowriting and gigging. He has played venues including The Bitter End in NYC, and The Bluebird Cafe in Nashville, as well as countless venues in and around Boston.

Check out his awesome Bieber cover! https://youtu.be/xksxUrQ7hSc

Adam Torres, Aisha Burns & Aura Pineda: Live from the Red Room, Friday, Aug 11, at 8:00 pm on birnCORE

Adam Torres is a folk singer-songwriter based in Austin, Texas. In 2006 at age 20, Torres released his debut album Nostra Nova, featuring 11 idiosyncratic and varied songs. With breathtaking moments throughout, it feels full of promise and simultaneously weathered and young. A self-release, Nostra Nova established long-lasting roots in the small Athens, Ohio, community where he lived at the time, but didn’t resonate farther until much later. Continue reading “Adam Torres, Aisha Burns & Aura Pineda: Live from the Red Room, Friday, Aug 11, at 8:00 pm on birnCORE”

This Week on BIRN Alive: VINX, Saturday, Aug 5 at 4:00 pm on birn1

VINX is undoubtedly one of the most gifted improvisational vocalists performing today. With songs that range from jazz to funk, bossa nova to blues and back again, each audience takes a world tour with VINX as their private guide. Soaring vocals, intricate layered melodies and grooves, and his primal hand drum holding it all together mark the signature style that makes VINX a stand out. Infused with tastes from around the world, his songwriting is a tour de force combining the best in storytelling with the heart and soul of a true balladeer. Continue reading “This Week on BIRN Alive: VINX, Saturday, Aug 5 at 4:00 pm on birn1”

Dreamer & Son, usLights & The Penthouse: Live from the Red Room, Wednesday, Aug 2 at 7:00 pm on birnCORE

Dreamer & Son is a dreamy, alt-rock quartet from Boston. Formed in 2015, this collective came together from across the United States to chase a hauntingly similar dream. With their authentic, unique take on rock music, they aim to break down the barriers of genre. Fans of artists such as the Killers, Moose Blood, and Walk the Moon will all find something familiar in their ambient verses, memorable hooks, and explosive live performances. Continue reading “Dreamer & Son, usLights & The Penthouse: Live from the Red Room, Wednesday, Aug 2 at 7:00 pm on birnCORE”