Show Review: Dan Navarro at Jammin Java August 19

Dan Navarro at Jammin’ Java Aug 19 with Calista Garcia opening

Last Friday night, Dan Navarro stopped off at Jammin’ Java in Vienna, VA. He has a core group of dedicated fans who support him when he’s in the area, but this time was unique because the show was in anticipation of his new release, Horizon Line, due to be released tomorrow (August 26).

By the way the album is phenomenal — it’s one of those albums you’ll put on and leave it on for many pleasant days in a row.

Navarro is a highly networked musician with co-writes and co-bills dotting the national landscape on his tour calendar, and he peppers his set with anecdotal and invariably amusing references to his many professional friendships and working relationships. Sometimes he pays homage to folks who passed away, like his songwriting partner Eric Lowen and regional Maryland musician David Glasier. Dan approaches everything with authenticity and is very sweet and funny onstage and to his fans.

He opened the night with “Somewhere Far Away,” which he said was “the first song from first Lowen & Navarro album back in 1990 – when I was 4,” amid chuckles.

Next up was the beautiful fan favorite “All is Quiet Tonight,” which got a full crowd singalong. Then was the first song from the new album, which is also its opening track, “She Dreams in Music,” which some of the room already knew and many others called out their appreciation for after it was over.

“Circling the Drain,” the next song he played, is another standout from the new album, this one co-written with Deborah Holland. As Dan pointed out, when he first hear Deborah’s proposed title he wasn’t sure it was a hit title, but the song itself surely is, by all accounts.

The next song, “Come Around (January’s Child),” was written when he was 21, but, he said from stage, has made it onto the new album finally after years on a shelf. It’s a touching song that shows that age isn’t the marker for when good songwriting happens.

“Oh Broken Moon” is such a dear song to the heart of his fans that the crowd outburst at the first chord — to which Dan responded “I have to play it, it’s the 12-string.” “…by the light of a broken moon.” The room is lighthearted all the way around and — it feels like everyone knows each other.

For “Gold Mine” Navarro told the story of its roots with folk singer Joey Raphael.

“Rose in the Window,” a co-write with Preston Sturges, another from the new album, featured the piercing line “I’ll put a rose in the window, ’cause the searchlights and the sirens are easy to ignore.” A couple songs later, Navarro played the title track from the new album, “Horizon Line,” and the crowd again was energized and engaged.

Navarro played two encores, the second was his smash hit “We Belong” (covered, of course, by Pat Benatar) with Calista Garcia joining him onstage and the crowd loving it.

No one wanted to go home this Friday night.

The show was immensely enjoyable. Shows of this quality in a smaller listening room venue are a music fan’s dream.

The new album is quite amazing and put together in super-pro fashion with superb, fully blossomed songwriting — the kind of songs that’ll gently rock your soul. A lot of music crosses the desk of a music magazine in a given year, so, it’s always special to find one of this year’s favorites reaching into the top — Horizon Line absolutely is that good.

Calista Garcia was a more than pleasant surprise, and a complex, thoughtful songwriter in her own right. “My Love, My Love, My Love” was a memorable one as the lyrics point out the poignancy of trying to create a world where our kids are kept safe, and a friend close to the recent Uvalde school shootings had commented on the significance. Check out her stuff here: https://www.calistagarcia.com

Enjoy our earlier interview with Dan Navarro, here: Interview: Dan Navarro on “Nomad Dan” Tour and Forthcoming Album

Check out the album review, here: REVIEW: Dan Navarro “Horizon Line”

Find tour dates here: https://dannavarro.com

Setlist:

Somewhere Far Away

All Is Quiet

She Dreams In Music

Circling the Drain

Come Around (January’s Child)

Broken Moon

I Don’t Believe In Yesterday

Gold Mine