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

Ben Harper GettyImages-1413911697

Review: Ben Harper Displays Sensitivity on ‘Wide Open Light’

BEN HARPERWIDE OPEN LIGHT(Chrysalis)3 1/2 out of 5 stars It has always been a challenge predicting what style singer/songwriter Ben Harper will direct his attention to next. Throughout his 30-year career, he has bobbed and weaved between genres with the dexterity of a prizefighter. From soul to folk, blues to rock, and gospel to reggae, More

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Steve Forbert 5

Review: Steve Forbert Revisits the ‘Streets of This Town’

Steve ForbertStreets of this Town-Revisited(Blue Rose Music)4 out of 5 stars Call it a comeback. In 1988 folk-rocker Steve Forbert returned from a mess of music business legal matters preventing him from releasing new music. His previous self-titled album in 1982 wasn’t well received either critically or commercially, so he needed to reassert his talents More

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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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