Eric Hutchinson, one of the latest artists to be featured in VH1’s high-profile “You Oughta Know” program, will kick off a headlining tour on November 7th. Charlotte Sometimes and Matt Hires will open on the tour, which will conclude December 13th at New York City’s Bowery Ballroom. The soulful singer-songwriter will precede his headlining gig by opening up for Jack’s Mannequin on a string of dates beginning October 14th. Check out dates on Eric’s Myspace page to see if he’s coming to a city near you.
Hutchinson was recently hailed as “a new pop sensation” by Entertainment Weekly and is set to release an exclusive iTunes edition of his debut album, Sounds Like This. It will be released on October 14th featuring two bonus tracks — “OK, It’s Alright With Me” and “You Don’t Have To Believe Me” — that Hutchinson recorded earlier this year while guesting on NPR’s “World Cafe” — plus the official video for lead single “Rock & Roll.”
Check out the video for “Rock & Roll”:
Eric Hutchinson shines with a unique brand of pop-soul on his debut album, Sounds Like This. Although the charismatic singer/ songwriter has been favorably compared to his early idols (Stevie Wonder, Billy Joel, Paul Simon), one of the most remarkable things about Sounds Like This is the sheer breadth of musical styles that Hutchinson effortlessly encompasses.
Listen to “Rock & Roll”
The record was released on Hutchinson’s own label, Let’s Break Records, at the end of August 2007 and overnight it was breaking records. One of his buddies emailed celebrity blogger Perez Hilton a link to his MySpace page, and Hilton was immediately impressed, recommending the music on his site. Soon after, Sounds Like This was ensconced in iTunes’ Top 10 becoming the highest-charting album by an unsigned act in iTunes history.
Since then, the self-described student of pop signed to Warner Bros. Records, toured with One Republic, released the undeniably catchy single “Rock & Roll,” snagged a spot on The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 Soundtrack, and recently became one of VH1’s “You Oughta Know” artists. Hutchinson takes pride in the raw, vintage vibe of Sounds Like This: “I tried really hard to keep it organic,” he says. “Music is human expression and what’s more human than to make a mistake? So to record something and then take out all the mistakes leaves the project with no soul to it.” With ska-inflected grooves, jazzy melodies and vocals that veer from a gritty growl to a shimmering falsetto, Sounds Like This might just be the most soulful thing you’ve heard all year.
erichutchinson.com
youtube.com/erichutchinson
imeem.com/erichutchinson
vh1.com/artists/you_oughta_know
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