Andrew Ripp, Judah and the Lion are at the Bottleneck tonight

Andrew Ripp wants to be a pop star. That much is obvious on his latest full-length, the Charlie Peacock-produced Won’t Let Go. (It’s also pretty obvious by his Bieber-like hair swoop and near-constant leather jacket, but anyway.) And you know, the Illinois native is not a bad singer, and his songs are pretty catchy, and he seems to be on the path to wherever it is he wants to be, so maybe if you see him now at the Bottleneck, in 20 years you’ll have an “I remember when” moment with your kids.

But the real star of this evening may well be Nashville’s Judah and the Lion, which, despite its Mumfordian tendencies, delivers just the sort of rough-edged Americana that will make you feel at home. Frontman Judah Akers came up on gospel and church music, and you can hear plenty of those influences in his all-together-now choruses. 

Details here.