I recently had the wonderful opportunity to attend a local show where Austin Glass and Jack Romero performed for a packed house and very excited crowd. The show was to celebrate Jack's EP release and was held at EMPIRE, a local restaurant that specializes in burgers and brewery in Naperville, IL. The venue offers performers of all ages and ranges as a source of live entertainment.
Austin Glass is a 16 year old from the city of Naperville and as he says "a heart for the city." Austin describes his history with performing as "off and on again". He has been playing guitar for seven years, and only a year ago did he start writing his own music. When I asked Austin how he would describe his music to to others his response was, "Acoustic/coffee house covers." I am interested to see how this description changes as his music progresses and he moves from covers to originals. He plans on releasing his first single before 2017 is over and releasing a full EP sometime in 2018. He is currently working with Sound Summit, a multi-purpose music studio also located in Naperville. On Saturday, Austin opened for Jack Romero and gave attendees a warm welcome to the show. With his soothing voice, Austin turned covers of what appeared to be some of the crowds favorite songs, into beautiful creations of his own. My personal favorite was "Robbers" by The 1975. Austin captured the depth and emotion of this song while still maintaining the flow of happy and playful vibes. This is very difficult to do with songs that bring out a lot of emotions in listeners. Austin not only sung throughout his performance but also played the guitar and Ukulele. His wide range of performance skills will no doubt put his ahead in his journey in the music industry. Jack Romero is a 15 year old also from Naperville, IL. He also is currently working with Sound Summit and his producer Devin Rodarte. Jack's performance history began about four years ago, as he told me that's when he really began being interested in the music industry. He has been working with his producer for about two years now. In his young age and short time with a producer, it is amazing that Jack has already released an EP of his own, and plans to release more material very soon. He says a single will likely be out in the coming months, and hopefully a full album within a few years. He says his music so far can be described as "Vibey, True, Groovy, Chill, Authentic." All of those adjectives happen to be some of my favorite words. Another favorite me and Jack shared was our favorite song on his EP, "There Is My Baby." It was quite a delight to hear this song, as well as the rest of the songs on the album on Saturday. With a strong team behind him, including Alex Arce and Devin Rodarte on guitar, Jeannine Garland on bass, and Charlie Dresser on drums. Together they created a fun, energetic, and passionate performance. From Jeannine's bright smile, to Alex and Jack's sick moves, it was quite clear that this performance was as fun for them as it was for the audience. I find that to be one of the most important qualities of a show. Seeing performers ave fun, causes the audience to want to have fun with them. Jack's playful attitude only added to to the audience's energy, whether it was screaming girls, or supportive parents. One quality that helped me drastically and was wonderful in Jack's performance was his stage coverage. He never stood in one spot for too long and truly covered all angles and spaces the stage had to offer. I look forward to seeing Austin and Jack's advancements and successes in the music industry. They will no doubt have many of them, and I am glad I will be able to witness it. They will be on my radar and I will be on the lookout for more of their performances. It is not often you find such young individuals with such drive and passion as both Austin and Jack possess. All photos of the event can be found HERE!
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AuthorEvan Hazlett Archives
September 2017
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