A.J. Croce
Despite the fact that he was a longtime local, we haven’t seen a lot of singer-songwriter A.J. Croce since his mom’s restaurant and jazz bar Croce’s closed its doors in early 2016. He’ll return to the Belly Up for the first time in a little over three years on January 3, with a new album to promote called Just Like Medicine. Always an engaging performer, Croce specializes in a soulful, almost New Orleans sound, but with an urban city twist that comes across like an old soul in a new coffeehouse. Over the course of nine albums, he’s covered nearly all genres, landing over a dozen top 20 singles on radio stations formatted for blues, jazz, Americana, and even top 40, as well as covering nearly all TV viewing hours with appearances on The Today Show, The Tonight Show, and The Late Show.
His newest full-length is a collaboration with producer/songwriter Dan Penn, featuring guest players like Muscle Shoals bassist David Hood, blues guitarist Colin Linden, honorary Eagle Vince Gill, Blues Brother Steve Cropper, and gospel singers the McCrary Sisters. It also includes his first recording of “The Name of the Game,” an unreleased song by his father, the late Jim Croce.
