Lauren Rayman

     After releasing “Hurt Somebody” in early 2018, Noah Kahan has started to become a more well-known singer and songwriter.

     At just 22 years old, Kahan is building a name for himself. According to allmusic.com, the Vermont native began writing songs at just eight years old.

     Kahan’s song “Hurt Somebody” was a song off of a five song EP with the same title. The EP features two versions of the song, with one of them featuring Julia Michaels.

     Another song on the EP, “Passenger,” is one of his more popular songs.

     After not releasing any new music, Kahan released his debut album on June 14, 2019. Titled Busyhead, the album consists of ten songs, including “Hurt Somebody” featuring Julia Michaels.

     “False Confidence” and “Mess” are among the singer’s most played songs on Spotify, both of which came from the “Busyhead” album.

     Besides releasing the album, Kahan has recently been working with many artists whose music is similar to his. At the end of 2018, Quinn XCII released “Tough,” featuring Kahan. The song currently has over 28 million plays on Spotify.

     Along with Quinn XCII’s “Tough” and Julia Michaels being featured on one of Kahan’s own songs, he also appears in “Need Your Love” by Gryffin. “Need Your Love” also features Seven Lions and has over seven million plays on Spotify.

     Kahan has a similar style of music to Khalid, a well-known and still growing singer and song-writer. Kahan’s music has been described as very chill yet uplifting.

     I have found myself listening to more and more of Kahan’s music for many reasons. I like the songs themselves, but I also like the meaning behind the lyrics. I feel he is a very talented but young musician and I look forward to seeing what he releases in the upcoming year.

     My personal favorite songs are “False Confidence” and “Young Blood,” both of which are on the Busyhead album. I love the message behind “False Confidence,” and the song is very upbeat.

     As for “Young Blood,” there is not one thing in particular I like about the song– since I first listened to it I have always enjoyed it.

     I would highly recommend listening to music by Noah Kahan, even if it is just a song that he is featured on. His music promotes positivity and creates overall good vibes.

     Visit Kahan’s website to stay updated on new releases and tours and be sure to listen to some of his music on Spotify and Apple Music.

Jacob Doctor

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

     Everyone has been anticipating the arrival of Frozen 2. The original Frozen came out in 2013 and ever since then people have been wondering when the second movie would be made.

     Frozen 2 came to theatres on Fri. November 22, 2019. The crowds were huge and the theatres were packed with no seats left. 

     On the Saturday following the arrival of Frozen 2 was when I saw the movie. Even the next day after, the theatre was still packed with many families.

     All the families who were there seemed like they were excited about the movie. Some kids even dressed up in costumes. 

     For example, I saw a group of children dressed up like Elsa and Anna. They were also holding dolls to show who their favorite character was. 

     Frozen 2 had a very good plotline and had some unexpected events happen. During the movie, many of the kids laughed because of something Olaf would say or do. The writers kept his funny side and I really appreciated that.

     People who came to see the show did not get engaged with the singing like they did in the first movie. The audience only became involved when they saw or heard a funny scene. 

     Frozen 2’s soundtrack was good, but it did not have easy songs to learn. The songs had many different verses and difficult words for kids to understand.

     All of the major characters were in the new film, with the addition of an entire new cast. It offered a different spin on the movie. 

     I really enjoyed how they made the plotline different from the first one and made it unexpected. The movie kept the audience wondering what would happen next.

    As always, disney makes the movie family friendly and did not have any graphic content. This made it available for all ages to be able to see the film which was very appreciated.

    Frozen 2 also offered history of the characters. The film shows the audience the history of Elsa and Anna’s family and it also showed the history behind the city of Arendale.

     Frozen 2 also added romance between a couple characters. My friends and I enjoyed this part of the movie as well.

     Frozen 2 seemed to be liked by many of the audience members and I enjoyed it as well. The movie offered a few plot twists as well as a good plotline. It had a good soundtrack; even though, it did not engage the audience as much.

    I would rate this movie 4.5/5 stars because it was very entertaining and many enjoyable qualities. I would not be able to come up with something that I disliked about it.

    Make sure to buy your tickets now. The movie just came out and is available at most movie theatres around stow. Enjoy!

Shea Sullivan

    Coming off the release of his latest album “Wasteland Baby!” Irish singer Hozier has rocked concert venues around the country. 

     On Thursday, Nov. 7, Hozier performed in front of a sold out crowd at the Akron Civic Theatre, his first appearance in the northeast Ohio area since the LaurelLive music festival last June. Hozier is one of the last performances of the year at Akron Civic, before their busy season of holiday performances and festivities begin.

     Opening for the night was Australian singer Angie McMahon. McMahon, who released her first album earlier this year, “Salt,” played songs “If you call,” “Pasta,” “And I Am a Woman,” a cover of “Helpless” by Neil Young and her most popular song “Slow Mover.”

     Before performing, McMahon took a moment to pay respect to the Indigenous people of the land, a value she carries with her from Australia. This was her first trip to Akron, and she has been able to get her name out there since she has been a part of the “Wasteland, Baby!” tour.

     “It has been such a privilege to play in a studio [venue] this beautiful in front of such a great crowd,” McMahon said. 

     As the night went on, Hozier eventually made his appearance on stage. Opening with “As it was,” he continued the night playing songs such as “Dinner & Diatribes,” “Jackie and Wilson,” “From Eden,” “Nina Cried Power,” a cover of “As” by Stevie Wonder, crowd favorite “Almost (Sweet Music)” and many more.

     Hozier performed song both off of his latest and first album. Graphics were displayed behind him on stage for every song, and colorful lights with patterns were projected throughout the theatre. Each song had a different type of light which ultimately matched the mood of the song.    

     While the lights added to the excitement and atmosphere, Hozier made sure this concert carried an impactful message. “Nina Cried Power” was performed with a video of protests and demonstrations around the world. Hozier referenced the current Hong Kong and Moscow protests, stating the importance of speaking up and creating a positive change in the world. 

     Hozier announced that he is working on new music and hopes to release it within the next few months. His new music will match the instilled theme of his concerts: protesting and activism. He performed a new song that has not yet been released called “Jack Boot Jump.”

     Along with other songs he is hoping to release soon, Hozier hopes “Jack Boot Jump” will act as marching music that encourages people to stand up for what they believe in. 

     Ending the night and building off the message of activism and protesting, Hozier sang his most well known song “Take me to Church.” This song was performed with the music video playing in the background, which depicts an LGBT couple kissing, and then being attacked by a religious mob.

     Although Hozier’s newer music will have an obvious theme of activism, showing the injustices in the world has been based in his art since his career took off.

     For the encore, Hozier came on stage to perform songs “Cherrywine” and finally “Work Song.” Though the Akron Civic Theatre is not a typical place for big artists like Hozier to perform — compared to venues like Quicken Loans Arena, and the Wolstein Center in Cleveland — Hozier loved the intimate atmosphere the theatre created. 

     “I think this venue was a good choice, it really matches the whole Hozier vibe. More artists should come to Akron because the Civic is such a cool place,” attendee Lili Culley said. 

     Many may not think of Akron as a big music city, but with musicians such as James Ingram, Devo and The Black Keys all from Akron, the city certainly has roots of its own. Hozier even credited Akron artists for boosting his interest to create music.

     “There’s a huge amount of musical talent coming out of Akron. I was very encouraged as a teenager hearing music from Akron like Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney [The Black Keys],” Hozier said.

     While Hozier could not stay until Sunday morning to take the crowd to church, he brought his uplifting and moving music to the city for a fun night, with a powerful meaning.