Join us for a very special Anti-Valentine's Day edition of The Standard, Hollywood's Weekly Desert Nights acoustic music series. This week we've decided to give Valentine's Day the old FU and devote the night to murder ballads! Because, sometimes love just isn't forever...
This week's line-up includes:
Christian Lee Hutson: To call Christian Lee Hutson an old soul would fall short of proper description. According to the SF Bay Guardian, "Hutson writes foreboding, bluesy love ballads laden with longing nostalgia," but despite the maturity and commitment to tradition found in the 21-year-old singer-songwriter’s songs, they vibrate with a youthful energy as if a drunk and sedentary George Jones was being channeled through a drunk and animated Conor Oberst. Although rooted in old country and folk, the songs still manage to feel fresh, relevant, and vital. Hutson’s debut solo E.P.Will Never Break Up marks his stylistic shift away from the dustbowl-era sound of the recently defunct Driftwood Singers in favor of a more recent tradition of country songwriting in the vein of Steve Earle and Dwight Yoakam. Will Never Break Up, though recorded this year in Los Angeles, could just as easily have been recorded in the heart of Nashville in the mid-70s. Christian Lee Hutson still maintains the rigorous touring schedule that took the Driftwood Singers across the U.S. and back a number of tread-wearing times, so come out and join him for a sour drink of some sort and some songs so well-worn, weathered, and welcoming that they whimper and creak as they pull a stool out for you at the bar.
Matt Taylor: Matt Taylor is a songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist and part-time mechanic living on the outskirts of Los Angeles, his hometown. That he is a native of that particular city is notable, for, even in a place so often associated with artifice and guile, Taylor has managed to craft a body of work that is not only splendid but utterly genuine. His songs (now two albums-worth, and a third forthcoming) deal with the most universal of human themes—love, hate, aging, death—drawing on melodic and lyrical influences from myriad traditions. They’re familiar but impossible to entirely classify, existing in the subliminal sweet-spot that embraces all great, possibly timeless work; once you hear them, they’re with you. Through stints as a solo act as well as frontman for multiple iterations of the band his Laurels, Taylor has become a seasoned performer and recording artist, and his live shows, although unfortunately much rarer as of late, do not disappoint. This is a guy to keep your eye (not to mention ear!) on.
Slums: Be prepared for captivatingly dark, psychedelic folk songs that will haunt you. Slums is a new project from LAs folk rock band Oh! Gypsy’s frontman Davis Leduke. Expect more awesomeness, just in a slightly different packaging!
What is Desert Nights?
Desert Nights is a weekly gathering at The Standard, Hollywood, hosted by KCRW’s DJ Valida. Every Wednesday, Valida curates three acoustic musical acts to perform a set in the Cactus Lounge. The vibe is warm and intimate, evoking an impromptu jam in a musician’s living room. The music begins at 7:30pm, it’s always free and always a good time. Guaranteed.
