Our favorite band of brothers, AJR, kicked off their spring tour with a headlining show at NYC’s Gramercy Theatre on Saturday, March 15th.  It’s hard to believe this was only the band’s second headlining show, ever.  They played a solid 1-hour set, including a brand new song and some covers that seriously showed off their vocal ranges.

We were first introduced to AJR (brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Met) at CMJ back in October, when they played a showcase at the Gramercy along with artists like Diane Birch.  At the time, there were maybe 30 people in the audience.  It’s amazing to see how far they’ve come in just a few short months!

The near-capacity crowd at Gramercy was dancing and singing along to every song, even tracks like “The Green and the Town” and “Married on a Hill,” which haven’t even been officially released by the band.  The show also marked the first performance of a new song, “Alice By The Hudson,” which AJR described as “the perfect summer song.”  We totally agree, and love the Beach Boys-influence you can hear in this song.   They also played favorites off their debut EP, 6foot1, like the ukelele-driven “Growing Old on Bleecker Street” and “After Hours,” which was so much fun to hear live.  They followed it up with a cover of Bastille’s “Pompeii” that (as with all of their covers) makes it impossible to go back to the original version because they just do it better!

They even brought back a song from the AJR archives, “3AM,” which was a nice addition to the set and for fans who had been around since they first started adding videos to YouTube a couple of years ago.

As if we weren’t impressed enough already, for their encore AJR sat down on the edge of the stage and beckoned their fans closer.  Without microphones, they did a cover of “Wagon Wheel,” which we could hear perfectly from the back.  It seemed like a fitting tribute to their days busking in Washington Square Park.  They ended the show with their single “I’m Ready,” which had the whole crowd dancing and clapping along.

Having seen them before, we were expecting an incredible show, but we were seriously impressed with this show and how much they’ve stepped up their game.  They have a few more dates coming up this Spring, and trust us, you do not want to miss this!  At this rate they’ll be selling out arenas this time next year.  We’re so excited to see what’s in store for this talented trio! Even more remarkable, AJR are a completely independent, DIY project – they write, produce and record songs in their parents’ living room in NYC and have full creative control.  As they say, No Label.  Just Fans.

Setlist: (not in order)
The World is a Marble Heart
The Green and the Town
Livin’ On Love
Growing Old on Bleecker Street
Married on a Hill
Everlasting Love/Eternal Light (Cover)
Alice By the Hudson
After Hours
Pompeii (Cover)
3AM
Infinity
Wagon Wheel (Cover)
I’m Ready

Upcoming Shows:
Saturday, March 22nd 2014 : Pittsburgh, PA – Macy’s Prom Event – Mall at Robinson, Main Entrance
Saturday, March 29th 2014 : Boston, MA – Red Room at Cafe 939
Sunday, March 30th 2014 : Montreal, QC Canada – La Sala Rossa
Saturday, April 19th 2014 : Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live

Pick up a copy of AJR’s “I’m Ready EP” on iTunes or Amazon now so you can sing along at their shows!