I am an out of towner living in the Midwest. I love to sing and do so, as a part time job. I was raised in a musical family, and have tried to pass on my love and appreciation of music onto the next generation, my children.

Nostalgia by OutOfTowner

                A few recent Facebook conversations about some older albums have gotten me started on a nostalgic music tour. I started (before sefirah of course) by borrowing the old cassette of Labele Heschel obm’s Mital Hashamayim, where he is the 2nd person to sing the now famous Elokai

OutOfTowner Reviews Yehuda Green-Peace in my Heart

As someone who loves music, I am a little embarrassed to admit that growing up I was not a Shlomo Carlebach fan. I obviously knew his famous songs, but didn’t own any of his cassettes or CDs. After he passed away I was exposed to his music a little by some friends and went on

OutOfTowner Reviews Tzudik-Brothers

  A couple of months ago Tzudik Greenwald’s album, Brothers, was released, and immediately I started getting requests to review it. I had not heard a lot about the album and with so much else coming out it got swept under the rug. Well, I finally got around to getting and listening to it, and

OutOfTowner’s 1st Impression of Cry No More

In today’s times when there is usually a PR blitz starting several months before an album release,  culminating in either a pre-release music video or some other event to introduce the new album, Tuesday’s news that Yaakov Shwekey’s new album, Cry No More,would be available in less than a week, came as quite a surprise.

OutOfTowner Reviews Shragee

  Much has been said about the recent explosion of Chassidic singers and performers, so for me to pile on is unnecessary. Since Shragee Gestetner’s new album has come out, I have listened to it extensively to really get to know the songs and to try and formulate an opinion based on a longer amount

Out Of Towner Reviews Amram Adar-Baruch Hashem

My first reaction listening to this album is where have they found this special talent? I have never seen any videos of him singing at weddings, like I have of most of the newest singing sensations. I have never heard of him, and I am probably not alone here. Amram Adar seems to have burst

Out Of Towner Reviews Big Time – Alter Heim

How often can an album be released featuring an all star lineup of Mordechai Ben David, Lipa Schmelczer, Dovid Gabay, Shloime Gertner, the Mezamrim Choir, Chilik Frank and the Freilach Orchestra, produced by Sheya Mendlowitz, and arranged by Suki Berry,  and seemingly not even register a blip on the Jewish Music scene? Then again, with

Music, the Business

Recently I passed the 10th anniversary of being a professional vocalist (I get paid to sing, so by default I am professional). I was having a conversation recently with a friend who is a huge music lover and amateur musician, and in the course of conversation he mentioned how he loves to just sit down

OutofTowner Reviews Hashkifah by Baruch Levine

Baruch Levine has long been known as a composer and performer, whose material is both sweet and enjoyable. Although he has some really beautiful songs on other people’s albums, his big break came on his first release, Vezakeini, with the songs Vezakeini and V’hu Keyli making everyone’s list of must listen to songs. Every time

Review of Ahavas Hashem by Yumi Lowy

Almost three months ago, a very highly anticipated album was released. Yumi Lowy, a very popular vocalist on the wedding scene on the east coast, released his debut album, titled Ahavas Hashem. Yumi is known for his sweet and smooth sound, somewhat a cross between Yeedle and Dov Levine at times, and his album has

Wedding Pet Peeves Part 2 The Band’s Perspective

As we begin the second half of this summer’s the wedding season, I felt it necessary to write an article as a follow up to the recent article written on JMR called Wedding Pet Peeves” (http://jewishmusicreport.com/2011/08/03/wedding-pet-peeves/). As someone who has been singing at weddings for ten years, and with a father who has led a

Review of HASC: The Remastered Collectors Edition Part 2 (Volumes 4-7)

  For all those who missed my introduction and part one (volumes 1-3) here it is:http://jewishmusicreport.com/2011/07/01/review-of-hasc-the-remastered-collectors-edition-part-1-volumes-1-3/ Continuing on: HASC 4: Right off the bat, my first impression when it came out was WOW, and that was even before I opened up the triple cassette. Yes, I said triple, as in 3! The concert had gotten

Review of HASC: The Remastered Collectors Edition Part 1 (Volumes 1-3)

Aderet’s recent release of the digitally remastered HASC’s A Time For Music Concerts Collection: 1-7 has brought back some very fond memories of my youth.   Let me explain. Nowadays, Jewish Music is a much larger and more sophisticated industry than it was back then. The HASC concert was the biggest and most anticipated event