A little bit of rock, folk, harmonic, dance – Bronze Radio Return knows how to bring all the best elements of music to their group. Since 2008, Bronze Radio Return has been steadily making their way up the ladder of the music scene. With more than 26 million streams on Spotify and festivals like Bonnaroo, Lollapalooza, Hangout and Firefly under their belt, Bronze Radio Return knows how to make good music and perform it well.
The six-piece band’s latest album, “Light Me Up,” is an energetic album filled with a mix of folky and pop sounds. Opting out of the traditional big-city recording studio experience, the group traveled down to Sonic Ranch Studios in El Paso, Texas to make their second record. Committed to the process, the band spent three weeks living there – eating, sleeping and, of course, making music with producer Chad Coplein. Singer Chris Henderson says this unique camp/ranch style process helped inspire the album: “We recorded the bulk of this album on a ranch outside of El Paso, TX. It was the whole experience that influenced the making of this album. We like being out of our normal comfort zone when working on records. There is something about being kept on your toes that excites our creative senses.”
After leaving Texas, the band headed to Norman, Oklahoma to finish up their new album. Title track and their first single, “Light Me Up,” was one of the last songs to join the album, but Henderson thinks it captures the theme of their energy. “Naming an album is always hard for us, but after the song ‘Light Me Up’ came together … We felt the energy represented what we were going for with this body of work.”
The band is currently on tour with “Light Me Up,” where they made a stop at Blueberry Hill’s Duck Room on Feb. 26. Henderson said, “We aim to bring an energy every night that shows people in the room that we love our jobs,” and that is exactly what they did.
They opened up with “Down There,” a song that has a perfect balance of rock and folk, with the banjo and drums carrying the beat. Seeing Bronze Radio Return live, you are able to see the talent each member of the band brings to a live show. Along with Henderson, Rob Griffith on the drums, Patrick Fetkowitz on the guitar, Matt Warner on the keys, Bob Tanen on the bass, and Craig Struble on the banjo and harmonica – they all figured out how to perfectly highlight their skills in harmony.
Bronze Radio Return had quite the full set and bounced between fan favorites on all four of their albums. “Pocket Knife,” from their latest album, got the crowd dancing and showed that these guys know how to create music that you can move to. “Only Temporary” highlighted the band’s strength in creating catchy songs paired with punchy lyrics. They finished the night with old classics “M.O.T.R. (Middle of the Road)” and “Shake, Shake, Shake.”
Not only is “Light Me Up” a catchy, genre-crossing album, the band can put on a show to match their energetic songs. Bronze Radio Return is definitely worth keeping on your radar.
