Jared Costa

Hailing from Bucks County, PA, Jared Costa is a strangely upbeat young fella. Here in Glasgow such an attitude is unfamiliar. Having ten years of musical experience under his belt and having made something a local hero of himself, the logical step would be to release an album. And that's what he has done. Drawing on modern folk and Americana sounds, Costa has come out with an album that does well to capture his sound at its sharpest.

After starting in worryingly optimistic fashion, we reach, "Stronger", and the albums veers suddenly into "Nebraska"-era Springsteen territory. Any fears of Costa being a soft touch have been allayed for now. The title track returns to that sprightly sound that began the album while Costa works his harmonica nicely on "No Man's Land". Those Springsteen comparisons are getting harder and harder to avoid. The Boss apparently never smoked, but he sure sounded like he did. Somebody buy Mr Costa some cigarettes!

It would seem that Costa's real world observations serves as the primary source of his lyrics, and his craftsmanship - the way he brings the music and lyrics together - is to be admired. While probably not the finished article, Jared Costa has emerged on the scene at a good time. With the world in the state it's in, and Costa with his ability to observe and opine, he is sure to have plenty of songs for a follow-up. Of course, whether or not he does so is largely up to him. I hope he does.

by: Peter McGee - BluesBunny.com

Hailing from Bucks County, PA, Jared Costa is a strangely upbeat young fella. Here in Glasgow such an attitude is unfamiliar. Having ten years of musical experience under his belt and having made something a local hero of himself, the logical step would be to release an album. And that's what he has done. Drawing on modern folk and Americana sounds, Costa has come out with an album that does well to capture his sound at its sharpest.

After starting in worryingly optimistic fashion, we reach, "Stronger", and the albums veers suddenly into "Nebraska"-era Springsteen territory. Any fears of Costa being a soft touch have been allayed for now. The title track returns to that sprightly sound that began the album while Costa works his harmonica nicely on "No Man's Land". Those Springsteen comparisons are getting harder and harder to avoid. The Boss apparently never smoked, but he sure sounded like he did. Somebody buy Mr Costa some cigarettes!

It would seem that Costa's real world observations serves as the primary source of his lyrics, and his craftsmanship - the way he brings the music and lyrics together - is to be admired. While probably not the finished article, Jared Costa has emerged on the scene at a good time. With the world in the state it's in, and Costa with his ability to observe and opine, he is sure to have plenty of songs for a follow-up. Of course, whether or not he does so is largely up to him. I hope he does.

by: Peter McGee - BluesBunny.com

Jared Costa
Onwards & Upwards
(received "ICONIC" status: highest possible score)

Whatever emotion you could possibly be feeling at this moment, Jared Costa has a song to match it. Onwards and Upwards captures every type of energy. The harmonica
and acoustic guitar complement this Buck’s County musician, sucking you in to every lyric and melody. Bob Dylan would be proud. -Brenda Hillegas - Origivation Magazine

Jared Costa
Onwards & Upwards
(received "ICONIC" status: highest possible score)

Whatever emotion you could possibly be feeling at this moment, Jared Costa has a song to match it. Onwards and Upwards captures every type of energy. The harmonica
and acoustic guitar complement this Buck’s County musician, sucking you in to every lyric and melody. Bob Dylan would be proud. -Brenda Hillegas - Origivation Magazine

I was honored to start the year with such a compliment as to be recognized for performance in the past year. I sincerely hope that 2009 is as successful as '08 if not more! - The Deli Magazine

I was honored to start the year with such a compliment as to be recognized for performance in the past year. I sincerely hope that 2009 is as successful as '08 if not more! - The Deli Magazine

Jared Costa
by Brittany Sturges, Temple '08


Upon meeting Jared Costa (a 25-year-old acoustic musician from Bucks County), I was struck by how down-to-earth he was—not that I was expecting him to be any different. He took all of my questions in great stride, with a warm persona and a great sense of humor, and even worked in a joke here and there.

Dressed in jeans and a black shirt, he sat there as he explained how he got into music.

“I started playing harmonica when I was ten, and guitar when I was about thirteen. I borrowed my friend’s until I could play. Three years later, I gave it back.”

After playing in some rock bands (including one with Vershara’s Chris Cooney), Jared re-evaluated what he was doing and decided to go solo—something he said was a “pretty natural transition.”

His deep voice with a somewhat Southern sound gives his songs a raw, edgy feel. He describes his style as “bluesy, melodic, grassroots.”

About the writing process. “I’m pretty lucky,” he said, “The pen just hits the paper. I’m inspired by various things—movies, books, other bands.”

When asked what he would like people to get from his music, Jared said, “Positivity. There’s a lot of negativity in the world. Music is a beautiful medium…a breath of fresh air.”

Since he is somewhat new to the local scene, I asked Jared about the city’s music.

“People are becoming more impassioned…bands like Illinois are getting bigger. There’s more loyalty among bands to stay in the city,” he said.

What about the number of acoustic musicians in the city? Will it grow larger?

“If people are progressive, it could blossom into something popular,” Jared said.

Speaking of acoustic shows, what should one expect from him at a show? First of all, don’t be surprised—there is a harmonica involved. Laughing, Jared explained,

“The harmonica adds a bit of surprise. When I start to play, heads turn. People probably don’t know what to expect.”

He went on to say that he loves playing shows with local bands.

“There’s a connection with the audience and the fraternity with the other bands. It’s great.”

With his harmonica and acoustic guitar, Jared Costa is a breath of fresh air to the music scene. He’s one to keep your eye on. For more information, visit him at his MySpace page.

You can contact Brittany Sturges at brittany.sturges@temple.edu

- Campus Philly

This article was published in Belgium. So I tried to get a direct translation, but it was tough! Here's a little of the review that I could translate. If you speak Dutch, email me @ jared.costa@hot mail.com and we'll do business. Here's what I've got:

From Bucks County in the American state Pennsylvania we got a debut album sent from singer-songwriter inspired by folk music, Jared Costa. The piece of work with the title Onwards & Upwards deliver 12 contemporary songs which join a mixture of Americana, folk music and rock. A trait of these particular songs of Jared Costa is its capacity to weave beautiful tale lines and bring personal consents to melody. The acoustic guitar is thereby an essential instrument that lends an excellent accompaniment for his soulful voice. The songs are alternatively firstly lively and joyful and afterwards dark and contemplative. Its main aim however, has a positive nature in its music because there is already more than enough negativity in the world according to him. Jared Costa already has 15 years of being busy with making music in which his feelings are expressed and he reflects life experiences. If the music fan would be interested in this ultimate aim, this album is how it will be reached. He was 10 years old then he started with harmonica and 3 years later learned stock in the trade on acoustic guitar. From an interview with him on the Internet, you can sense that this young person has both feet on the ground and has a warm individuality with a great sense of humour. His deep voice and its pronouncement betray its southern source. He also seems influenced by the blues in his music. From a press standpoint, comparisons emerge with artists such as Johnny Cash, Neil Young and Bob Dylan, but we gladly join to that Steve Forbert. The songs on this CD are one after another acoustic guitar songs and for some such a `one man band' may sound like perhaps something of a surplus for a complete CD. There is however sufficient alternation between the numbers. Though we have nevertheless been aroused by the curiosity of how these nicely developed songs would sound with broader instrumentation. Perhaps an idea for the next disc. At Rootstime we keep Once Upon A Time and Sad Song with a lot of sentiment. They are an emotionally sung clincher with incredible crescendo of nice violin and classical composition. But we also thoroughly enjoyed the songs Love, To Mine, No Revolution, Take It All, Rainmaker Waltz. We look forward to the next disc.
He is a complete songwriter that convinces the listener to believe in the music. We are convinced that Jared Costa is a songwriter with nothing more to learn.
Valsam - RootsTime Music - http://www.RootsTime.be/

"A talented songwriter, Jared Costa probably puts on a great live show!" - Indie-Music.com

I feel very excited and proud to be starting off 2009 with another honor like this. Forever Lost In A Song is a site I respect tremendously and read myself for its genuine qualities. This really means so much! ----I hope you agree:

Jared Costa is a singer/songwriter from the Bucks County, PA area. His music might be best described as acoustic, folk rock and maybe even americana. One of the first things that I noticed about his music is his powerful and soulful voice. Lyrically his words are deep and rather sad. Musically the melodies are light and add an element of hope. The beauty in the simplicity and pureness of the acoustic guitar is so easy on the ears but what about that harmonica. Oh my, the harmonica adds such an incredible layer to Jared Costa’s music that is so perfect. Needless to say, it is highly recommended that you take the time to check out Jared Costa’s music for yourself.

http://www.foreverlostinasong.com/2009/01/featured-artist-jared-costa.html - ForeverLostInASong.com

My impression of Jared Costa's music is that it reminds me of Bruce Springsteen's "Nebraska" and "Devils and Dust" albums. The songs seem to deliver an air of optimism in what can be a dark and lonely world; Beautiful acoustic music by an obviously talented and skillful songwriter from Pennsylvania.
...continued with a Q&A... - Vents Magazine

Friday, January 09, 2009
By BRENT JOHNSON
Special to the Times

Bob Dylan was 20 when he released his debut record -- and that has Bucks County singer-songwriter Jared Costa feeling old.
At least when it comes to Costa's own debut, the recently released "Upwards & Onwards."

"I turned 27 at the beginning of December, so I was 26 when I put it together," says the Newtown, Pa., native, who'll celebrate the self- financed acoustic Americana album tonight with a CD release party at Puck in Doylestown, Pa. "It's kind of funny to say I did my first record at 26."
Costa didn't even apply to college when he graduated from Archbishop Wood High School in Warminster, Pa.
"I took my SATs, and I kind of realized: No matter what, I'm going to end up trying to play music, be a musician," he recalls. "We'll have to see if that was a good or bad decision."
Over the last decade, Costa has started a painting business "that failed quickly" and worked as a janitor, a car salesman and a machine shop employee.
He's toiled in a bunch of bands, some of which played "harder" music than the personal-lyric, fit- for-an-open-field folk he plays now - "where we're kind of making up for our lack of knowledge and talent with volume," Costa jokes.
But none of the groups made anything more than a demo or EP.
"This is the first time I really felt like I was prepared to do something that was going to be significant enough where I wanted to put my stamp of approval (on it)," Costa says of the long "detour" to his debut album.
"Finally, I'm starting to make some strides," he adds, laughing. "It's just one of those things where, eventually you'll find your niche if you keep plugging along."
Hence, the future-pondering title of "Upwards & Onwards."
"This is my starting point, and hopefully it gets better from here," Costa explains. "Hopefully, people take from the album a sense of positivity."

WHAT HE SOUNDS LIKE: Costa took up harmonica at age 10. He plucked his first guitar a few years later. These days, he's armed with nothing but the two instruments as he stands on stage, playing introspective, gently strummed tunes that recall the singer-songwriters who populated the early 1970s.
Costa's voice is appropriately gruff. His songs include titles like "Love" and "Rainmaker's Waltz." And his influences? Dylan, Johnny Cash, Neil Young, Cat Stevens. His favorite album is "August And Everything After," the 1993 debut from Counting Crows.
"Some of my favorite stuff actually is listening to early Springsteen," Costa says. "I think it was less of a rock band, where it was just that essential singer-songwriter that I think is the foundation where I get my strongest influences from."
FAVORITE BEATLE: George Harrison. "I like everything he writes. For some reason, I think he was the best of both worlds, for me at least. I enjoy how he wrote and just his grasp on instruments."
FAVORITE CONCERT: Radiohead, August 2001 at Liberty State Park in Jersey City. "They played an incredible set, but on top of that, just the way that the vantage point is, when you're looking over the stage, you can see the Statue of Liberty to your right, then you see the Twin Towers to your left. And I think it was just really poignant in retrospect."
...

- Trenton Times

Well, no-one could describe Pennsylvania's Jared Costa as being a shrinking violet; Costa's approach is so directly head-on that it could be said to be forceful!! On one track, 'To Mine', Costa cries out, '..let your voice be heard from mountain tops around the world..', well, he certainly gives it a good go, and them some!! Costa puts aggressive energy and genuine pained torment into his singing and his thumpin', honest guitar chords are a great foil to his cutting vocal delivery.

'Onwards & Upwards' is a generally stripped down acoustic work that finds Costa as a bit of a one-man-band laying down his hard strummed guitar, pained harmonica and a few sympathetic keys. Jared Costa's distinctive songs are melodic, story-telling and pertinent. Think of a poetic, observational Dylan vying for prominence with the industrious reality of Springsteen with a just hint of growling but soulful Cash and you'd be somewhere close to Jared Costa's inimitable style. His brash individualistic approach to musical delivery is extremely vibrant and uniquely direct; there's no mistaking this guy's belief and confidence in his capabilities and/or his songs - Costa really seems to 'live' the words as he pounds and cries out his songs with nothing short of infectious gusto and annoyingly abrupt but irresistible fierceness.

Costa takes no prisoners as he tells it like it is and gives it his all; even when he takes the pressure down a few notches there's still an overwhelming feeling of absolute belief in his outpourings. This aint acoustic music for tender ears, this is hair-raising, nerve-jangling stuff quite unlike most of his contemporaries. Costa's vocal boldness ensures that he will never be talked of as just a run-of-the-mill acoustic artist; Jared Costa sits squarely inside the bounds of folk-rock and amazingly this guy doesn't need a 'band' to generate the density and depth required to meet the genre criteria, with his big voice and muscular playing he's more than able to deliver the goods as a soloist.

'Onwards & Upwards' by Jared Costa is an impressive piece of work - in no way could it be described as 'pretty' flowery music, it's harsh and it's bordering on angry but, it's fascinating and pretty damn compelling! - www.toxicpete.co.uk

Jared Costa: Modern Minstrel
by j. W., Feb 26, 2009

Singer songwriter Jared Costa performs at Philly's own North Star Bar.

It was cold in this place. The walls surrounding the stage were brick and there was no discernible source of heat. The North Star Bar is a hip, strange venue with a balcony obstructing the view from the back of a room with a sound system built for high volume and noise. But, I was not there for the racket and thumping perceived by older generations as “what passes for music these days”, much of which I thoroughly enjoy. From the looks of things, that might break out in due time anyway. This night, I was getting into something different.
Sometime after nine p.m., armed only with a harmonica and acoustic guitar on a platform littered with electrified/amplified sound machines, singer/songwriter Jared Costa stood alone to conquer a crowd. This is no small undertaking when the majority is there for rock and roll.

He went on early, so for the first three songs, patrons slowly filtered in. These tunes were some of the more upbeat selections from his self released debut “Onwards & Upwards”. The title track seemed to draw people nearer to the show. Whether by design or happenstance, several people surrounded my small corner from which I watched this world unfold and sat down next to the stage when Costa slowed the train down with “Take It All”. As I listened to him nail the falsetto chorus, I realized something. Jared Costa, being a true performer, is as talented an actor as he is a minstrel, conveying the emotion behind each note and seemingly reliving each moment of the words he so passionately croons. For the rest of the show I listened intently and scanned the crowd to gauge reactions. As things progressed, more applause came with each song and more people made their way to have a closer look at what they were hearing. Some of the songs he played are not on the album, which gives fans some surprise and shows depth. It also gives them something to look forward to when he has another go in a studio. I could analyze every single song in an unnecessary and tiresome fashion, but instead, let us get into the belly of the beast. Let us sink our teeth into the performance as a whole.

I have read reviews of the album “Onwards & Upwards” and the word “Americana” is thrown around a bit. I will be one hundred percent honest. I have no idea what the hell that means. Consequently, I consulted a dictionary and found the word basically defined as an artifact or collection of artifacts having to do with America and its culture, as I had suspected. I do not understand genre classifications. I would think any American that makes music classifies as Americana. Jared Costa, and anyone else who has that noun associated with them, deserves better. I would go with the article title “modern minstrel”, much in the ilk of Bob Dylan if he never went electric. Maybe a word needs to be invented. At any rate Jared Costa live, is better than his album. He has that quiet power that few audio engineers or producers have ever come close to properly conveying in any recording. His voice is a little smoother and more comfortable. It seems more at home going through a microphone that more directly connects it to the ears of an audience than one that turns it into a series of ones and zeros that has become the common form of documentation in our digital age. This is not to say that the album is not good, that would be a lie. It is just meant to convey the idea that more justice can and is done in bars and coffee houses and anywhere that will let Costa play. He draws one in with facial expressions and body language you cannot see when listening to the CD. He is one of those artists whose show does not disappoint because they have more to offer you than you ever knew. Credit should be given where it is due. To be honest, I am not really into acoustic singer/songwriter stuff, but Jared Costa is damn good at what he does. In a more intimate setting, he could blow you away. But why just read my blathering. After all, I was not the only one in attendance and this is not a dictatorship.
The afore mentioned group in front of me either watched with a not so mild wonderment adorning their faces or closed their eyes and loosely swayed with the music. That is not too shabby for an acoustic act playing to an obvious rock crowd. Given the fact that they were right in front of me, I asked two of them for some thoughts. I did not think to get their names, but assume if I did they would not be hunted down by eager readers demanding to know if these girls would have a hefty libel suit on their hands. One said things like “he obviously has talent. He has a great voice.” The other described the performance as “endearing”. I concur. Check Jared Costa out if you get a chance, and if you happen upon a performance, get real close…breathe it in and really experience it. - MusicOuch.com

Well, no-one could describe Pennsylvania's Jared Costa as being a shrinking violet; Costa's approach is so directly head-on that it could be said to be forceful!! On one track, 'To Mine', Costa cries out, '..let your voice be heard from mountain tops around the world..', well, he certainly gives it a good go, and them some!! Costa puts aggressive energy and genuine pained torment into his singing and his thumpin', honest guitar chords are a great foil to his cutting vocal delivery.

'Onwards & Upwards' is a generally stripped down acoustic work that finds Costa as a bit of a one-man-band laying down his hard strummed guitar, pained harmonica and a few sympathetic keys. Jared Costa's distinctive songs are melodic, story-telling and pertinent. Think of a poetic, observational Dylan vying for prominence with the industrious reality of Springsteen with a just hint of growling but soulful Cash and you'd be somewhere close to Jared Costa's inimitable style. His brash individualistic approach to musical delivery is extremely vibrant and uniquely direct; there's no mistaking this guy's belief and confidence in his capabilities and/or his songs - Costa really seems to 'live' the words as he pounds and cries out his songs with nothing short of infectious gusto and annoyingly abrupt but irresistible fierceness.

Costa takes no prisoners as he tells it like it is and gives it his all; even when he takes the pressure down a few notches there's still an overwhelming feeling of absolute belief in his outpourings. This aint acoustic music for tender ears, this is hair-raising, nerve-jangling stuff quite unlike most of his contemporaries. Costa's vocal boldness ensures that he will never be talked of as just a run-of-the-mill acoustic artist; Jared Costa sits squarely inside the bounds of folk-rock and amazingly this guy doesn't need a 'band' to generate the density and depth required to meet the genre criteria, with his big voice and muscular playing he's more than able to deliver the goods as a soloist.

'Onwards & Upwards' by Jared Costa is an impressive piece of work - in no way could it be described as 'pretty' flowery music, it's harsh and it's bordering on angry but, it's fascinating and pretty damn compelling! - www.toxicpete.co.uk