Bryan Elijah Smith is a local artist from Dayton who just released a new self-produced CD, “Pour On Me.” The album’s release party was held at Byers Street Bistro in Downtown Staunton this past Saturday evening.

The party was to begin at 9 p.m. By 8:30 p.m., there was a 40-minute wait to get into the Bistro with everyone wanting to hear the smooth sounds of Smith and his backing band, The Wild Hearts wh,ich include Jeff Miller on the banjo and Jay Austin on the fiddle.

Smith’s sound is a pleasant mix of folk with a hint of blues and rock; the music was very reminiscent of the great Bob Dylan. An interesting thing about this performance was that there was no drum kit, it was simply guitar, banjo and fiddle. In most cases the lack of drums would make people feel as though something was missing from the performance, but not in the case of these three men. The sound filled the restaurant and poured over into the street, where passersby could hear and join in the celebration of the newest CD for Smith.

Only a couple of cover songs were thrown into Smith’s set list on Saturday night; the rest were all originals written by this award-winning musician. By the end of the night, people were dancing and signing along with Smith and The Wild Hearts.

“I’ve been playing instruments since I was 5, but I have made music my career for about two years,” says Smith. “There’s so much I do outside of performing. I work a regular work week with booking shows and producing myself, you always have to think three months ahead.”

Smith has his own recording studio right in his house and has been recording and producing for over six years. This local musician is known all up and down the East Coast.

“I do shows in North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida, and I do shows in New York City sometimes, too,” he says.

Reflecting on past shows, Smith says, “My favorite thing about performing is trying to break down the walls people have built and just show them a good time.”

The album, Pour On Me, is on sale for $15. For upcoming shows, and to hear some tracks from the newly released album, check out Smith’s website www.bryanelijahsmith.com

Story by Jenny Hypes. Jenny can be reached at jenny.hypes@emu.edu.  

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MINI RECAP: Bryan Elijah Smith & The Wild Hearts = Better Then The Average Bear! Overall score: A.

Bryan and Jeff sat themselves on the stage and proceeded to play over two hours’ worth of a mix of wonderful original material and wonderful cover songs. Let’s face it, any song that starts off with a cover of “Folsom Prison Blues” is gonna be a good one. The two of them made one heck of a pair; Bryan with his acoustic guitar and harmonica, and Jeff with his banjo. It was a simple, classic sound they made, stripped down and pure. And Bryan’s voice, well, that’s something else altogether. You know me, I’m sometimes easily impressed, but this boy has one hell of a voice on him. It’s breathy and rich, a little reminiscent of Ryan Adams and those sensational Love Is Hell EPs, along with shades of the great Joseph Arthur, but with the honesty and purity of the mountains coursing through it. Very salt of the earth, you might say. The timbre of his voice backed by the genuine simplicity of the acoustic and Jeff’s banjo was nothing short of beautiful.

Among the set were excellent covers of Creedence’s “Fortunate Son”, more Cash (“Ring of Fire”), a jaw-dropping rendition of “Wonderwall” that rivaled the Oasis original, and “Blowin’ In the Wind”, to name but a few. And I’ll just go ahead and blaspheme, but this version of “Wonderwall” eclipsed the Ryan Adams cover, in my humble opinion. Each song, cover or no, was given special care, and was played with attention to detail. Towards the end of their set, the boys took requests from the persons in attendance, and my request for the Rolling Stones was kindly granted by covers of “Wild Horses” (gorgeous) and “Dead Flowers”, which sounded a wee bit like that amazing Townes Van Zandt cover.

When it was all over, and Bryan and Jeff packed up and headed off into the night, I was left feeling totally impressed, and rather proud. Hearing a voice like Bryan’s is rare indeed, and I can’t encourage you enough to go see the guys if you happen to get the chance. Fellow Virginians, the trio has dates all over scheduled for this summer, so make sure you don’t miss ‘em.”

Story by by Megan Terrible

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Jam Cruise is full of magic moments but a lot of them this year were generated by a pair of unassuming singer-songwriters who threw down on deck at all hours and reminded everyone that encountered them that music can inform and delight us in ways beyond the ability of words to describe. Nathan Moore and his guest Bryan Elijah Smith proved a happy catalyst all week at sea, touching cruisers and musicians alike. There’s a big ol’ review of Jam Cruise 9 by Dennis over here where you can read more about the whole experience, including the Moore/Smith lead hootenanies, but we’ll just share a taste of the boys on deck and a couple other clips that show what they’re made of. Some glowing words on the latest releases by both gents hitting Impound soon…

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Late at night and into the early morning, you could always find Moore holding court on the deck near the Jam Room with his extremely talented songwriting partner Bryan Elijah Smith.  

Written by Scott Bernstein

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I hate to brag, but sometimes I feel like the luckiest girl on the planet. I get to go to work every weekend and listen to some of the best music and meet some of the coolest people. I am a bartender at Hideaway Cafe, a quaint little bar/venue/recording studio on Central Avenue owned by John Kelly. This isn’t your ordinary music venue. Kelly calls it a “listening room”. People go to the Hideaway Cafe to listen to music, and that’s it. It’s a great escape from all the other bars full of obnoxious drunk people screaming melodies in your ear, and then spilling their beer on you.

Saturday left no exceptions. Bryan Elijah Smith played and hour and a half sets full of original music and even some covers (Mumford & Sons, Oasis, Johnny Cash and more). Smith is a young, up-and-coming musician full of energy and stories to tell.
“He played an hour and a half of his own tunes and few classics from Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan…I think he sold everyone in the room a copy of his CD, Pour on Me, full of his own tunes. He even got up for an encore… Don’t miss out on this kid…. he really is something,” Kelly said.

This country boy plays acoustic guitar and sings, while also playing a homemade drum contraption- an old suitcase with a bass drum pedal. At first glance, I thought it was completely weird. But once I heard it, combined with his rugged, yet soft vocals and rock & folk inspired guitar- I was obsessed. His sound reminds me of a young John Mayer that grew up in Nashville and loved country instead of blues.

“When I heard his stuff on line, I knew his sound and style would be perfect but I had no idea how talented a writer and gifted a voice he really is and has. From the moment he sang his first tune at sound check…I was hooked,” Kelly said.

Not only is Smith a natural musical phenomenon, he’s also down to earth and hilarious! He even invited Kelly and I on stage for a special Hideaway style version of his song “Pour On Me”, the title track of his most recent album. The chorus still lives on in my head, almost 2 days later. He definitely knows how to write a catchy tune.

Smith came all the way to Florida from his home town in Staunton, VA for a one night show at the Hideaway, then flew back to Virginia to continue his tour. He plans on returning to St. Petersburg’s Hideaway Cafe sometime next year to put on another amazing show.

Story by Kate Cillian.