Tuesday, April 24, 2012

Spring Time's "Winter Road"- Music a la mode



The Fine Line in Downtown Minneapolis is the perfect venue for a small concert, a wedding reception (T-minus 2 months until my best friend gets married there- Shoutout to Casey and Dust!), or a CD Release Party. And that’s just the reason that brought the 150 plus people to Fine Line last Thursday. Nels Leafblad, or Nels, as he goes by in the music world, was a fellow Bethel student with me for the too-short year and a half I attended there. Friends of both Randi and I, we both know how talented he is musically. Whether he was doing stuff for Mr. BU, singing with his friends on a Friday night, or hey- even trying out for American Idol and getting the coveted golden ticket to Hollywood, he always stood out. After returning to Minneapolis from his chance to meet and talk to singer Jennifer Lopez (god I sound like a name dropper), he decided to further pursue his dreams of becoming a musician. He rallied family and friends together to gather the funds he would need for studio time, and to make this much dreamed about CD a reality.            Upon getting a super personal invite via Facebook to join him at his CD release party (tis the time of invites over the internet), I was so excited. He had done it! And boy did he do it right.
            Everyone I expected to see was there, and even people I didn’t expect to see showed up to see Nels, as well as fellow musician and friend Matt Moberg and his wife Lauren, and two other bands: A Thousand Miles from New York, and Josh Tarp and the Still. The place was packed and buzzing. The Moberg’s graced the stage first with their haunting voices and indie, feel-good vibe. The two of them are spectacular if you haven’t had a chance to hear them yet- check them out. (Remember, Randi and I know good music…) Nels went on next. Looking like a natural he preformed songs off his CD “Winter Road”.  “Get on With Loving You” and “Stop Shivering” are two of my personal favorites. Trying to decide how to describe his voice is difficult, because he can fit in so many categories. Think Jason Mraz-like, but more folky, rawer, and there are some strong moments of country twangs in there. The CD may be called Winter Road, and yes I can totally envision listening to this by some fireplace when its snowy outside… but I can also imagine a bonfire setting this summer with this playing, a cold drink in hand, and just some acoustic version of these songs. Fantastic. 
            Sure, you might think I am biased since we are all friends, but as many of my friends can vouch, I am extremely and brutally honest. So I probably wouldn’t write this at all if I didn’t back it. Go buy it. Listen for yourself. And come to your own conclusions, but I guarantee they’ll be similar to mine.

-N

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