The Coffee House Tour at The Troubadour, Los Angeles was an unforgettable night with stellar music from three of SiriusXM’s powerhouse artists. Covering classic tracks from the 1960s to unreleased modern gems, this tour gives a taste of the full range of the music spectrum and more. 

Matt Hartke, a Coffee House veteran, who has been under the radar writing for artists such as Adam Lambert, Avicii, Kygo and Tiesto; kicked the show off with some of his newest singles barely released on SiriusXM’s radio. His new singles “American Dreams” and “Evergreen” received unanimous woos from the audience, and a heavy round of applause. Matt is an artist/songwriter who was able to captivate the entire room with just his voice and a guitar. Hartke carried an extremely pure and innocent nature throughout his performance, which resonated with the crowd in an extremely humanistic way. He closed out by bringing special guest Maggie Peake to the stage to perform one of his most popular singles, “Gold”, topping over 17 million plays on Spotify.

JD & The Straight Shot, one of the Coffee House Folk Rock hard hitters, comprised of vocalist/guitarist Jim Dolan, guitarist/vocalist/mandolinist Marc Copely, upright bassist/banjoist Byron House, violinist/vocalist Erin Slaver, drummer/percussionist Shawn Pelton and guitarist/vocalist Carolyn Dawn Johnson kicked their performance off with their title track off the album, “The Great Divide,” receiving an uproar of recognition and snaps from the crowd. The band explained the story behind each of their songs, and gave the audience a different look into their expression. Each member of this band had created different songs for their set, finding different ways to engage the room, and synergize with one another. Additionally, JD & the Straight Shot made sure to pay ode to their musical background by covering classics like, “Happy Together” by the Turtles and “Jessica” by The Allman Brothers, which had the whole room singing along and grinning. These artists are true entertainers, covering all spectrums of what it means to be a performer. 

Matt Costa, an OC native and a Coffee House icon, connected to his music on a different wavelength. From start to finish, there were almost no breaks from his music. Costa varied between several different instruments, including the trumpet, harmonica, guitar and vocals, showing the full capacity of his musical aptitude. Costa had the room packed from start to finish, reaching just about every demographic of age within his audience. His music had a storytelling and casual format making it extremely easy to connect to. Costa treated the room by showing them songs still unreleased in media, and made sure to give a show worth remembering. 

Final SiriusXM Coffee House tour dates:

7/26    Santa Barbara, CA @Soho Santa Barbara
7/28    San Diego, CA @Music Box

For more info, visit www.siriusxm.com/thecoffeehouse

Matt Costa: www.mattcosta.com

JD & The Straight Shot: www.jdandthestraightshot.com

Matt Hartke: www.matthartke.com

The post Review: Matt Hartke, JD & the Straight Shot and Matt Costa at The Troubadour, July 25 appeared first on Backstage Socal.

The artist trio is a part of the SiriusXM Coffee House tour, which kicked off in Atlanta on May 30 and will conclude at the Music Box in San Diego on July 28.

Coming off a strong year of touring around his critically acclaimed album of California story songs Santa Rosa Fangs, Costa is set to release new music throughout 2019. Multi-platinum selling singer-songwriter Matt Hartke has been working under the radar writing for artists such as Adam Lambert, Avicii, Cash Cash, The Chainsmokers, Kygo, Max Martin, Matisyahu and Tiesto. Matt released his first single “Gold” in 2016 which steadily climbed up the Spotify charts, currently sitting with over 16 million plays.

Powerhouse folk rockers JD & The Straight Shot, who released the all-acoustic album The Great Divide in March, has toured with luminaries like the Eagles, Chicago, The Doobie Brothers, Keith Urban, Don Henley, Dixie Chicks, Jewel, Joe Walsh, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band.

JD & The Straight Shot is comprised of vocalist/guitarist Jim Dolan, guitarist/vocalist/mandolinist Marc Copely, upright bassist/banjoist Byron House, violinist/vocalist Erin Slaver, drummer/percussionist Shawn Pelton and guitarist/vocalist Carolyn Dawn Johnson.

Copely caught up with Backstage SoCal to discuss the current tour.

What inspired you to pursue music? 
It really seemed like my only choice back in the day. Actually it was more like I had no choice. 

How would you define JD & The Straight Shot’s style or genre? 
Folk rock.

Who are the band’s influences that you feel has played a significant role in shaping your music?
Eagles, CSNY and Fleetwood Mac – to name a few.

What do your audiences experience at the SiriusXM Coffee House shows? How would you describe the band’s live shows? 
Great story songs with unexpected musical twists and turns.

Songwriting process — lyrics or music first?
It can go either way.

What are some special memories of the SiriusXM Coffee House tour so far? 
It’s been great getting to know the other artists and their bands.

What has been a “defining moment” in your career so far?
I guess years ago, when I started producing, I realized how much I love the collaborative process. I really enjoyed producing JD & The Straight Shot’s new album The Great Divide.

What do you do outside of music that helps generate your creativity? 
Meditate and read.

What do you want people to know about JD & The Straight Shot? 
This version of the band has been together now for over 5 years and we’re really hitting our stride. We have such a blast playing and creating music together. It’s a great time to come out and hear the band!

7/25    Los Angeles, CA at Troubadour
7/26    Santa Barbara, CA @Soho Santa Barbara
7/28    San Diego, CA @Music Box

For more info, visit www.siriusxm.com/thecoffeehouse

Matt Costa: www.mattcosta.com

JD & The Straight Shot: www.jdandthestraightshot.com

Matt Hartke: www.matthartke.com

The post JD & The Straight Shot’s guitarist Marc Copely talks SiriusXM Coffee House Tour appeared first on Backstage Socal.