When I met up with Ari Hest before a concert at a small banquet hall in a hardly noteworthy Illinois/Indiana border town, I was a bit surprised that he was actually there.  After all Hest is an artist who, despite having left Columbia Records a couple of years ago, has been playing increasingly bigger venues.

Just a few days before this particular show Hest and his full band had been in Chicago at the new Lincoln Hall, but tonight he was in Danville, Illinois with just his bassist and opener Declan O’Rourke, playing for about fifty people.  It was one of the more intimate shows Hest played on his most recent tour, which just wrapped up its American leg, but the owner of the hotel hosting the event is a huge fan and Hest understands it’s not up to him where his listeners reside.

The show, by the way, was fantastic.  Unlike some artists, Hest is flawless live.  In fact, his voice may be more suited to live shows than it is for recording, as his soulful acoustic set proved.

Before the show, Hest gave Fresh Scouts some of his time considering Tank, KC, and myself have known him for over six years now.  We’ve followed his growth and success from the very beginning, and he’s the sort of nice guy you can’t help but root for.  Check out the interview (with some snippets of the live show), and make sure you send Ari some love by picking up his “Twelve Mondays” album.  It’s a good one.

Check out our recent review of Ari Hest’s “Twelve Mondays”

I find it hard to remember to wash my laundry once a week.  In 2008, New York singer-songwriter Ari Hest took on the daunting task of releasing a new song each week for 52 weeks straight.  The year ended for him with an amazing new album and an abundance of great music.  The year ended for me with a lot of not-so-amazing dirty laundry and a lack of people wanting to stand next to me.  Ari Hest may have won this battle but at least my falsetto is higher than his.  Oh wait, he’s got me there too.

I had the pleasure of first meeting Hest back in early 2002 when he was heavily touring clubs and colleges in support of his album Come Home.  Over the years I have made it a point to see him live every time he passed through the area.  Hest is one of those special performers that you invest in.  You dedicate your time, money and energy into his work because the music that is produced seems like it was crafted just for you.  His song writing is reflective and emotive.  His vocals are warm and distinctive.  And make sure you hang on to your lid because he controls his vocal range like only a few can.  One minute you are following his deep voice as if he were the pied piper.  The next minute he is blasting you through the rafters with a falsetto that would make even the hardest thug shed a tear.  Simply put, Hest is a dynamic musician that continues to hone his craft year after year.

A few years ago a life long dream of signing with a major record label came true for Hest.  A lot of good came out of that partnership but what it really did was emphasize for Hest how important it is to have complete control over your music.  A peaceful divorce from his label gave way to a artistic project that had people raising their eyebrows.  The task was straight forward.  Release a new song each week for a year for fans to enjoy.  Do this for a year and at the end there would be a collection of 52 songs. The journey no doubt had it ups and downs but a loyal fan base (yours truly included) went along for the ride.  The musical experiment allowed fans to provide immediate feedback, suggest titles for songs and offer their two cents.  The end of the journey became the start of a new one with the creation of Twelve Mondays as an independent release.  Hest took fan feedback and narrowed down the 52 tracks to the 12 that you see on the album.

Twelve Mondays is a great representation of Ari Hest’s artistry.  I personally recommend you lend an ear to “One Two”, “Binoculars”, “I’ll Be There”,  and “Dead End Driving”.  Check out Hest’s web site to explore his music catalogue and find out when you can catch him live.

Ari Hest’s video for “Dead End Driving”

Below Ari Hest describes his “52″ project

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Like Ari Hest?  Check out Ray LaMontagne!