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Advance tickets on sale Friday, January 22nd at 12:00pm
Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of
Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and
tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region
provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,”
claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts
Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his
influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey
Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production
trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr.
The “retro” tag is added to almost any contemporary work that sounds
like it was originally recorded between 1966 and 1974, and Hawthorne,
among the newest contributors to the genre, is aware of how trends come
and go. After being introduced to Stones Throw label head Peanut Butter
Wolf by mutual friend Noelle Scaggs of the Rebirth, even his current
boss was skeptical. “He showed me two songs and I didn’t understand
what I was listening to,” Wolf recalls. “I asked him if they were old
songs that he did re-edits of – I couldn’t believe they were new songs
and that he played all the instruments.”
And after meeting in person, it was even harder for Wolf to believe
that Hawthorne was also the lead vocalist. Few expect such heartfelt
sentiment to come from a 29-year-old white kid from Ann Arbor, but he
has caught the ear of his family at Stones Throw, as well as BBC Radio
1 host Gilles Peterson and producer/DJ Mark Ronson. Expectations are
high for the admitted vinyl junkie who never planned on taking his
crooning public. Hawthorne’s hanging-by-a-string falsetto and breakbeat
production on his first recorded effort, the tender “Just Ain’t Gonna
Work Out,” are simultaneously Smokey and J Dilla – equal parts “The
Tracks of My Tears” and “Fall in Love.” “It’s soul,” he explains, “But
it’s new.”
Also performing:
Nikki Jean
Brittany Bosco
Doors open at 8:00pm
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