Hal Horowitz

Hal Horowitz

Hal Horowitz

Hal has been a professional music journalist since 1994, writing predominately about country, blues, Americana, roots rock and singer/songwriter genres for a variety of publications. He won the prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive award for journalism in 2009.

Latest from Hal

CowboyJ unkies-photo by HeatherPollock-0269-1

Review: Cowboy Junkies Explore Life’s Darker Side On the Compelling ‘Such Ferocious Beauty’

Cowboy JunkiesSuch Ferocious Beauty(Cooking Vinyl)4 out of 5 stars Cowboy Junkies’ first album of original songs in three years isn’t a major sonic or conceptual departure from the Canadian quartet’s existing catalog. The template created on their debut in 1986, and perfected a few years later on their still mesmerizing The Trinity Session album, has More

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Pernice brothers

Review: The Pernice Brothers’ ‘Overcome by Happiness’ Debut Remains Timeless on 25th Anniversary Reissue

Pernice BrothersOvercome by Happiness:25th Anniversary Deluxe Edition(New West)Music: 4 1/2 out of 5 starsReissue package: 5 stars The term “Baroque pop” may not have originated with the success of the band The Left Banke when their tunes “Walk Away Renee” and “Pretty Ballerina” became surprise hits in the mid-’60s. But that description adequately, actually perfectly, More

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Samantha Fish Jessie Dayton

Review: Samantha Fish and Jesse Dayton— ‘Death Wish Blues’

4 out of 5 stars What initially seems an unusual combination results in a powerful, spirited, and at times exuberant collaborative effort, different than yet related to both artists’ solo music. Blues rocker Samantha Fish and roots/Americana/outlaw country purveyor Jesse Dayton explore outside their comfort zones in this unlikely partnership. As its title implies, the twosome More

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Parker Millsap_Melissa Madison Fuller

Review: Parker Millsap Explores the ‘Wilderness Within You’

Parker MillsapWilderness Within You(Okrahoma Records/Thirty Tigers)3 out of 5 stars Those who initially pigeonholed Purcell, Oklahoma’s Parker Millsap, as a blues-based, rootsy singer/songwriter have had to reconsider that narrative. The title of Other Arrangements (2018), and its incorporation of amped-up guitars with propulsive and soulful rock, made it clear he wasn’t satisfied with sticking to More

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Olivia Jean

Review: Punky, Propulsive, Psychedelic Pop? Olivia Jean Delivers That and More on ‘Raving Ghost’

Olivia JeanRaving Ghost(Third Man)3 1/2 out of 5 stars Those looking for a concise summation of what singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Olivia Jean is about need just push play on her roaring 2 ½ minute version of “Orinoco Flow.” She inhales Enya’s atmospheric/hypnotic 1988 new age staple of elevators and dentist offices everywhere, feeds it through her distinctive More

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Ana Popovic AP5_BrianRasic

Review: Ana Popovic’s Pop/Blues Dominates ‘Power’

Ana PopovicPower(artistxclusive)3 out of 5 stars It’s noteworthy when a blues icon like Luther Allison aids in getting a new artist signed. That’s how blues/pop guitarist Ana Popovic’s career began and, starting with Ruf label’s debut (2001), she hasn’t slowed down. Initially a blues guitarist/singer with pop leanings, Popovic has over the decades embraced an More

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Stephen Stills GettyImages-85355268

Review: Stephen Stills’ First Solo Tour Gets an Overdue Release

Stephen StillsLive at Berkeley 1971(iconic/Omnivore)4 out of 5 stars Most acts don’t start shows with their most famous songs. So it’s surprising that Stephen Stills kicked off this date on his first solo tour with “Love the One You’re With,” the opening track and hit from his 1970 self-titled debut. The 1971 trek, in support More

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