Sibling trio AJR to headline big night in Colorado Springs
As summer arrives, the sibling trio AJR find themselves following up a fall 2021 tour with another run of concerts booked into arenas and large outdoor amphitheaters and bringing a big show to match the venues. That’s a sure sign of a band that has hit the big time.
AJR will headline a big night Saturday at Weidner Field in downtown Colorado Springs. Supporting acts include Jeremy Zucker, a Colorado College alum, Em Beihold and the band Almost Monday.
There’s never been doubt that AJR, made up of brothers Adam, Jack and Ryan Metzger (they go by the last name Met), had grand ambitions. It’s apparent in the theatrical type of pop music on AJR’s four albums and the brothers’ determined pursuit of a music career. But they never expected a career as big as the one that’s unfolding before their eyes.
“It’s always been our goal to be a niche band,” Ryan Met said. “I don’t think we ever thought about being the biggest band on planet Earth because just inherently, when that’s your goal, you’re going to try to appeal to everybody in the country and everybody in the world. You’re just going to lose a little bit of what’s unique about you and sacrifice that. So it’s always really been our goal to get our little niche audience that cares a lot and kind of solidify them and be able to play for them for decades to come.”
That outlook fits with the music the brothers have created. From the start, the trio wanted to stand out from the crowd. Their mix of classic pop (Simon & Garfunkel, the Beach Boys and the Beatles are big influences), the bright, big melodies and orchestration of Broadway musicals, and the anthemic harmonies and danceable beats of modern pop is nothing if not unique. So are the lyrics, many of which have dealt with the struggles of living through high school and transitioning toward adulthood — all accented with specific autobiographical and pop culture references that bring added individuality and authenticity to the songs.
It’s taken years to reach this point. The brothers (Jack was only 8 at the time) started out by busking in New York City Central Park and Washington Square about 15 years ago, earning enough money to start buying instruments and other equipment.
Their parents offered up their living room to be used as a recording studio, and before long Ryan Met, the trio’s primary songwriter, was writing and producing songs, with his brothers pitching in on the homemade music process. It wasn’t until 2013 that Ryan felt he hit on the group’s unique sound with the song “I’m Ready.”
It became a pivotal song for AJR. Having had little success up to then, Ryan Met decided to send the song to You Tube, Twitter and other online accounts of dozens of celebrities the brothers admired, hoping someone would create a buzz for “I’m Ready.” It seemed like a Hail Mary gambit, but it worked.
Alt-pop star Sia received the song and was so taken with it she met with the Met Brothers and told her manager, Jonathan Daniel, about the group. Daniel, in turn, contacted Steve Greenberg, head of S-Curve Records, who had helped build the careers of Hanson and the Jonas Brothers.
Greenberg signed on as AJR’s co-manager and helped the brothers start their own label.
“I really have not heard that story from anybody else where a celebrity finds a song and then single-handedly introduces them to all of the management and label and all of the people that are going to give them success,” Ryan Met said. “It was a very crazy twist of fate. Yeah, it really changed our entire lives.”
What: AJR, with Jeremy Zucker, Em Beihold and Almost Monday
When: 4:30 p.m. Saturday
Where: Weidner Field, 111 W. Cimarron St.
Price: $49-$90; switchbacksfc.com, seatgeek.com
Sibling trio band AJR. Photo by Shervin Lainez
Ryan Met, from left, Jack Met and Adam Met of AJR perform during 106.1 KISS FM’s iHeartRadio 2021 Jingle Ball at Dickies Arena on Tuesday, Nov. 30, 2021 in Fort Worth, Texas (Photo by Amy Harris/Invision/AP)
Ryan Met, from left, Jack Met and Adam Met of AJR perform during the College Football National Championship AT&T Playoff Playlist Live! Concert series in Monument Square in Indianapolis in January 2022.