event Ari Hest

New York-born singer-songwriter Ari Hest released a winning major-label debut in 2004’s Someone To Tell, a fine showcase for his earnest, gravelly voice. Aided, no doubt, by savvy Crowded House producer Mitchell Froom, Hest improved in both material and performance on his 2007 follow-up, The Break-In. His current repertoire of songs is packed with jams so radio-friendly you may wonder if John Mayer is going to pop out of the wings and try to sell you a Volkswagen, though you have to give Hest credit for his prolificacy, evidenced by his “52” project from 2008, wherein he wrote, recorded, and self-released a new song every week for a year.