Hal Horowitz - American Songwriter

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.

Videos by American Songwriter

Latest from Hal

MorganWade_creditDavidMcClister_1255R

Review: Morgan Wade Remains Timeless Through Revitalized Performances on ‘The Party is Over (recovered)’

RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Videos by American Songwriter MORGAN WADETHE PARTY IS OVER(recovered)(Ladylike/Sony)🎵🎵🎵🎵 There hasn’t been much downtime in singer/songwriter Morgan Wade’s career since her 2021 solo debut Reckless, More

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Paul Thorn photo by Jeff Fasano3

Review: Paul Thorn Delivers Message About How to Live Life on ‘Life is Just a Vapor’

RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Videos by American Songwriter Paul ThornLife is Just a Vapor(Thirty Tigers)🎵🎵🎵 ½ Americana didn’t even have a name when roots singer/songwriter Paul Thorn released his More

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Photo by Will Von Bolton

Review: Jason Boland & The Stragglers Effortlessly Raise the Bar with ‘The Last Kings of Babylon”

RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Videos by American Songwriter Jason Boland & the StragglersThe Last Kings of Babylon (Proud Souls Entertainment/Thirty Tigers)🎵🎵🎵🎵 The eleventh album from the Oklahoma-born and raised More

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Billie Holiday Photo by Gilles Petard_Redferns_GettyImages-103933769

The Haunting Story Behind Billie Holiday’s “Strange Fruit”

The legacy of protest songs is rich, deep, and musically diverse. There are tunes in almost any genre that, over the decades, carry the socio-political messages of the times and, often frustratingly, remain relevant today. From Woody Guthrie and Bob Dylan to Bob Marley, the Staple Singers, and even Beyonce, these typically transcend the era More

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beabadoobee - Credit_Photography_Jules Moskovtchenko & Creative Direction_Patricia Villirillo

Review: beabadoobee Is In It For the Long Haul with ‘This is How Tomorrow Moves’

RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Videos by American Songwriter beabadoobeeThis Is How Tomorrow Moves(Dirty Hit)🎵🎵🎵1/2 Slayer, Tom Petty, Johnny Cash, Neil Diamond, Kanye West, Donovan, Black Sabbath, and ZZ Top. More

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Review: Amos Lee Nudges Lyrical and Vocal Boundaries on ‘Transmissions’

Videos by American Songwriter RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic AMOS LEETRANSMISSIONS(Hoagiemouth/Thirty Tigers)🎵🎵🎵1/2 This is singer/songwriter Amos Lee’s first new material in two years, but he’s been busy. He released albums More

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MorganWade_creditMatthewBerinato_60385R

Review: Morgan Wade Expertly Articulates Complex Feelings on ‘Obsessed’

Videos by American Songwriter RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic MORGAN WADEOBSESSED(Ladylike Records/RCA Nashville)🎵🎵🎵 By now, it’s clear that even though the heavily tattooed Morgan Wade might look like she fronts More

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Megan Moroney by_CeCeDawson_outnow

Review: Megan Moroney Strikes Gold a Second Time with ‘Am I Okay’

RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 notes – Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Videos by American Songwriter MEGAN MORONEYAM I OKAY?(Columbia)🎵🎵🎵1/2 When Megan Moroney changed her college degree from accounting to music, the financial industry’s loss was country More

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Crowded House GettyImages-2063964201

Review: Crowded House Leaves You Wanting More on “Gravity Stairs”

Videos by American Songwriter RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 – notes Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic CROWDED HOUSEGRAVITY STAIRS(BMG)♫♫♫ It has been confusing to follow the erratic history of Crowded House. The Australian/New Zealand band has disbanded More

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Booker T Photo by Michael Ochs Archives_Getty Images-74254908

The Story Behind “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the M.G.’s

Discussions about songs usually revolve around the concepts of hooks, bridges, choruses, and of course lyrics. But the 1962 instrumental “Green Onions” by Booker T. and the M.G.’s has few of these. Yet it’s one of the most famous, resilient, and influential songs to emerge from the golden age of soul music.    Videos by More

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Kings of Leon KOL 2024 PRESS PHOTO

REVIEW: Kings of Leon Seemingly Have Fun on ‘Can We Please Have Fun’

Videos by American Songwriter KINGS OF LEONCAN WE PLEASE HAVE FUN(Capitol)♫♫♫1/2 RATING CHART:1 note – Pass1.5 notes – Mediocre2 notes – Average2.5 notes – Above Average3 notes – Good3.5 – notes Great4 notes – Excellent4.5 notes – Exceptional5 notes – Classic Judging from the unusual title of this, Kings of Leon’s ninth release, you’d think More

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