SHOW REVIEW: Dylan Owen @ The Hotel Cafe

Dylan Owen

My sister first put me onto Dylan Owen over a decade ago with his album Keep Your Friends Close album, which she discovered on the depths of 2012 YouTube. He is a self-proclaimed “nowhere kid from a nowhere town” and an alternative rapper from upstate New York with a small but loyal cult following. Owen’s lyric-forward discography that straddles the line between slam poetry and hip-hop has been one of the most consistent soundtracks in my life. 

The problem with loving such a small artist who lives so far away is that opportunities to attend live shows are few and far between. Lucky for me, after years of commenting, “Please come to California!!” on his Instagram, he finally listened and recently moved to Los Angeles, and it was finally time to check seeing him off my bucket list. 

The November 3rd show was both an album release party for his latest project, Take Care of Yourself and Others, and his first show since relocating to California. As soon as Owen took the stage, the energy in the room was electric. I attended the concert on my own, but I wasn’t really alone because, for the first time in my life, I was in a room full of people who love his music as much as I do.

He mainly played songs from the new album and was joined on stage by his producer, Naebird, who accompanied him on the guitar and trumpet. A highlight of the show was his freestyle verse over his track ‘Dear Summer,’ where he showed off his lyrical genius in real-time. My only complaint is that I wish the just-under-an-hour set could have been three times longer. Owen expressed the difficulty of booking a venue in L.A. after many years of not playing out here and was grateful to the Hotel Cafe for giving him a chance. After the success of this show, I hope it is the beginning of an era of many west coast Dylan Owen shows.

Dylan Owen makes music for the old souls, the nostalgia-obsessed, and fellow “nowhere kids.” If this is your first time hearing of him and that sounds up your alley, I recommend giving him a listen and catching him the next time he plays an L.A. show.

- DJ Hit the Hay AKA Claire Fogarty

RIYL: Mac Miller, Conor Oberst