American Authors: Hometown Hereos
written + photographed by hunter astrid
Indie music comforts the soul, which was very needed on a cold Sunday night in Boston. Billy Raffoul and American Authors brought out such an animated and bright crowd to the Brighton Music Hall that it warmed everyone up from the weather.
Billy Raffoul -
Billy Raffoul is a singer-songwriter from Leamington, Ontario who has had music in his blood since the day that he was born. His father, Jody Raffoul, is a soft rock and pop singer-songwriter. He grew up surrounded by bands like the Beatles and Led Zeppelin, and was introduced to the music business when accompanying his father on a session with Kid Rock in 2013. His voice has a very distinct raspiness to it that is compared to the likes of Neil Young.
In 2017 he signed to Interscope Records and collaborated with Avicii on “You Be Love” and Kygo on “I See You,” and his first debut single “Driver” was released. He released his first EP in June of 2018 and his second EP in April of 2019. In 2020 he released his first full length album International Hotel and won the SOCAN Songwriting Prize for his single “Western Skies” in 2021.
Although a newer artist, Billy Raffoul has a very distinct and unique raspy voice that will help him stuck out in his journey to the top. His music is melodic, upbeat and infections and guaranteed to get stuck in your head. His vibes and music was a perfect match for American Authors and indeed made him the perfect opener for them on this intimate tour.
American Authors, known as The Blue Pages from 2006-2012, formed in Boston when all of the members were attending Berklee College of Music. Once they were done with schooling the relocated to Brooklyn where they are now based. The band current consists of lead vocalist and guitarist Zac Barnett, Bassist Dave Rublin, drummer Matt Sanchez, and guitarist/mandolinist Zac Van Bellman. Their song ‘Best Day of My Life’ was an immediate hit and helped them gain massive recognition in 2013.
Their music is a combination of pop alternative, folk, indie and rock and it all creates an extremely infections sound that is guaranteed to get stuck in your head. After releasing their debut single ‘Believer’ in 2013, their name garner attention specifically through alternative rock radio. They released their self-titled debut EP in 2013 as well and won the 18th Annual USA Songwriting Competition for their song ‘Believer.’ The next year in 2014 they released their debut studio album Oh, What a Life.
Their second album, What We Live For, was released in 2016 and features songs like ‘I’m Born to Run’ and ‘Pride.” This second album was followed by their third album Seasons that was released in 2019. During the pandemic they released an EP titled Counting Down. In 2022 they released covers of ‘Good 4 u’ by Olivia Rodrigo and ‘Circles’ by Post Malone. Their forth studio album, appropriately named Best Night of My Life was released in February of this month.
2023 marks their 17th year (13th year as American Authors) as a band, and their sound is only getting stronger. Their music is extremely energizing and fun, and the crowd was so hyped and lively, they definitely fed off the energy coming from the stage. All I know is that I’ve been singing ‘Best Day of My Life’ to myself for the last days, and that isn’t changing any time soon.
