Imagine sitting your car scanning through those SiriusXM stations and you come across these soothing melodies in the form of acoustic and Americana style genres. Sweet melodies that make you want to drive along the coastline with the windows open. That’s exactly what the SiriusXM Coffee House Tour brought to the Troubadour on a Thursday night. Matt Hartke, JD & The Straight Shot, and Matt Costa pleasantly rocked the house and set the mood in the Los Angeles on this night.
Hartke opened the night with nothing more than his vocals and acoustic guitar and believe me that was all that was needed. Hartke brought new music to the Troubadour and it was no surprise that the crowd was feeding off the vibes of Hartke’s melodies and powerful vocals. Hartke shows his connection with the human emotion of missing someone as delivered in his song “Leave a Message”. He concluded his set with “Gold” and was joined by the lovely Maggie Peake.
Following Hartke was the New York Americana band, JD & The Straight Shot, consisting of Jim Dolan (Vocals/guitarist), Marc Copely (guitarist/vocalist/mandolin), Byron House (upright bass), Erin Slaver (vocals/violin), Shawn Pelton (drums), and Carolyn Johnson (guitarist/vocalist). Each member of the band seemed to work off each others intensity that transcended to the crowd. Opening their set with “The Great Divide” and “Dead Men Tell No Tales”, to playing a cover by The Turtles “Happy Together” which had the crowd joining in. No matter the song that was being played, the crowd found a way to move and groove along to it.
The audience became restless as they prepared for the evening’s headliner, Matt Costa, to take center stage. Costa is the jack of all trades kind of artist. Not only is he an incredible vocalist, he is an accomplished guitarist, harmonicist, pianist, and one point during his set he dropped some beats on the trumpet. Costa also took a moment to play a few songs by himself, one of them being “Astair”. It was no surprise that fans of Matt Costa lost themselves in his rhythmic acoustic playing as he delivers infectious music that makes one lose control. Throughout the night, fans could be seen hugging each other as they sang along to their favorite tunes.
Review and photos by Maria Perla
