Ari Hest Live Performance

Music is ARI HEST's unparalleled passion, one that's seen him create at an astounding pace since he began writing songs in his late teens. Aside from the hundreds of melody snippets swimming around in his iPhone recorder, Ari has hundreds more on his home computer. And then there's the six albums, three EPs, and "52" in 2008, an innovative project whereby he wrote, recorded and released a new song every Monday for a full year. There's also educational music he's written for kids and as he puts it, "songs I write with others in mind to sing them."

And now, Ari is ready to release his seventh full length, The Fire Plays.  Drawing inspiration from a wide range of musical influences, the songs of The Fire Plays fuse the sounds of 70's pop era music akin to Gordon Lightfoot and James Taylor with the sprawling electric guitar soundscapes you'd hear from artist/producers like Ry Cooder and Daniel Lanois. Throughout the album, Ari's command of how each song should be sung is striking. He can sound vulnerable, formidable, angry and hopeful, all with an honesty and passion you simply don't hear from most singers these days.

Hest's music has been featured on numerous television shows including Private Practice, Army Wives, and One Tree Hill. He's also scored a film called Dreamriders, which won several independent film awards. And throughout his career, he has toured worldwide relentlessly to support his records, most recently in Israel as well as several European countries, and built the kind of loyal fan base any musician would envy.

While The Fire Plays is an excellent indication of what Hest is capable of, his live show will leave even more of an impression. Watching him play, one can't help but be thrust into his world, hanging on every word like a child listening to a ghost story. Some people smile, some people cry, but everyone at the least stops in their tracks to pay attention.