As Kevin and I walked in to the last day of the 2013 XPN festival in Camden, NJ, I remember him telling me about one of the early bands playing having a pretty good song called "Birds." I couldn't remember the name of the band at the time, but after watching their performance, I didn't see how I could forget it. The Kopecky Family Band delivered a rousing half hour set, highlighted by their infectious lead single off of their debut album, Kids Raising Kids. The single in question, "Heartbeat" displays beautiful vocal harmonies and a drum beat that pulls the listener in. The energy shown by the band was mesmerizing, and I couldn't resist buying their album immediately after the show which was being sold in a merchandise tent at the festival. In fact, the early set the band gave received such praise they were asked to fill in for a later band at the main stage of the festival for those who didn't catch the first performance. They didn't disappoint. I later went home and gave their debut album a listen and heard exactly what I saw on stage. The band's combination of raw energy and big time ambition makes for a rather jam-packed 11 song debut. The back and forth with the lead male and female singers gave me a Head and the Heart with electric guitars vibe. The Nashville band has big footsteps to fill coming from such a musically renown area, but they have convinced this listener that they just might fill those shoes.
- Jared
- Jared