Tour Dates

04/28/11 Evanston, IL @ The Space

04/30/11 Toledo, OH @ Frankie’s

05/02/11 Rochester, NY – The Club*

05/04/11 Burlington, VT – Higher Ground*

05/08/11 Philly, PA – North Star Bar *

05/09/11 Washington, DC – Red Palace *

05/10/11 Richmond, VA – Gallery 5 *

05/20/11 MA @ The Red Room @ Cafe 939

05/24/11 New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom

05/28/11 Augusta, GA @ Downstairs Live

* with Julia Nunes

Ian Axel, a twenty-something singer-songwriter from the Garden State, has been described as quirky and catchy. One thing is for sure. He will never be confused with Luther Vandross. Take a listen to a few of his love songs from his latest release, This is the New Year:

Hangman – “Please accept my honesty. You are not my cup of tea.”

Cannonball – “My love is a cannonball. Catch it as it falls… on you.”

Girl I Got a Thing for You – “I met a girl on the MTA. I lost my balance and got in her way.”

Smoooth!

Axel may never make a living in Soul and R&B, but that doesn’t mean he won’t have fun. “Girl I Got a Thing for You” plays like a good feeling that sneaks up on you. “Pacific Sun” is toe tapping and sprite. Then there is his voice. NPR described it as “… the sweetness of youth, the stubbornness of a teenager and the swagger of a rock star.” To me Axel sounds like a singer still growing into his rock ‘n’ roll platform shoes.

What Axel has in abundance is clever invention. I watched “This is the New Year” on You Tube and liked how he slipped in and out of his own music video. I really liked the fifth track, “Waltz.” Somehow he takes a ballroom dance normally reserved for polite society and turns it into a rock anthem. When he chants, “You can’t stop us now!” I believe him.

Dave