'Always great to come back': Boston-bred American Authors return home with new album, tour

American Authors is one of the most successful Boston-bred bands of the past couple of decades, but most of their success came after they moved to New York City. Go ahead and call it the rock 'n' roll version of "The Curse of the Bambino" if you want, but the band has just released its fourth album, and its "Best Night of My Life" tour touches down at Brighton Music Hall on Sunday night.

One reason Boston-area music fans don't always remember American Authors is that the band was known as The Blue Pages when it first formed in 2006, while all four members were attending Berklee College of Music. When they finished school and moved to New York City after 2010, they changed their moniker to American Authors and began recording their own brand of bright, upbeat tunes that would soon make them international headliners. Their 2014 single "Best Day of My Life" went triple platinum and has since been used in one form or another in a number of films ("How to Train Your Dragon 2"), TV shows ("The Vampire Diaries"), and commercials. American Authors has a knack for creating uplifting anthems with singalong choruses, and their music has thus far earned more than a billion streams from online fans.

There are some notable changes with the new album, which came out this week but has been yielding singles and videos for several months now. Original member James Adam Shelley, who played guitar and banjo, has left the band, and they'll continue as a trio, with Zac Barnett on vocals and guitar, Dave Rublin on bass and Matt Sanchez on drums. The new album is also the first one on which the Authors wrote and produced the entire album themselves.

The new album has some striking singles and videos that have already captured attention, like "We Happy," a buoyant number whose video depicts Barnett finding a lost dog, falling in love with the adorable border collie, only to have the owner show up to claim him – but luckily the owner is a pretty woman, and our man falls all over again. "Blind Love" features a surreal video where the theme is simply the exhilarating quality of being in love. And "Best Night of My Life" is another anthemic ode to having fun with your friends and finding happiness in the moment.

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The Boston show is part of a 22-date national tour, and we caught up with Barnett before the American Authors show in Virginia Beach, Virginia. The band will spend most of May touring Australia.

"We used to play Harpers Ferry (the previous incarnation of Brighton Music Hall) once a month when we were in school," Barnett said. "We've played it at Brighton Music Hall probably four times, played The House of Blues, Fenway and pretty much every other venue in Boston over the years. But it's always great to come back, and we'll play an awesome mix of all our catalog on what should be a very special night."

Has regrouping as a trio made it harder to record or perform the American Authors songs?

"It hasn't shifted our sound a bit," Barnett said. "We all play multiple things, like I play banjo, mandolin, ukulele and guitar. So nothing really changed, and recording went smoothly. We also have one of our buddies from Berklee play with us live, and he's been with us for 10 years, so it's been seamless."

American Authors' sound has evolved since their big 2014 hit 'Best Day of My Life'

"It's not like we were successful right away," Barnett noted. "We had been playing for six or seven years before 'Best Day of My Life' hit, touring in a van, pressing our own CDs. We had four EPs out. So it was a process of experimenting with different sounds and never giving up. We went through arena rock, then emo, and then tried for a serious Coldplay type of sound. It was always evolving until we found what we feel is our signature sound and decided to stick with lyrics that deliver messages of hope."

The new record is the first one the band has produced, and that was partly a byproduct of the pandemic.

"The pandemic was super-tough, but it did give us a chance to regroup and refocus," said Barnett. "We found more of the writing style we wanted by working together. Having to quarantine together to get anything done turned out to be a great way to do it. With all three of us collaborating and having a clear idea of the sound we wanted, this new record was done in two weeks. That's the way we want to do it in the future."

Kim Simmonds leaves Savoy Brown fans one final gift with Friday's release of 'Blues All Around'

Certainly a bittersweet record release Friday when Savoy Brown's "Blues All Around" is unveiled on Quarto Valley Records, astonishingly the 42nd album released under the Savoy Brown moniker. The paragons of the British "blooze" segment of the 1960s British Invasion, Savoy Brown was founded in 1965 in London and quickly surged to the front rank of rock bands influenced heavily by American blues. The British blues-rockers tended to be more rock-tilted, with even some heavy metal dynamics. Led Zeppelin, for one, followed that heavier style to wide popularity, while John Mayall stayed closer to the blues roots. But Savoy Brown developed a style neatly divided between rock and blues, with Kim Simmonds writing and singing most of the songs. Simmonds also played lead guitar.

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In recent decades, Simmonds has been based in upstate New York, and Savoy Brown was essentially a trio. Perhaps 10 years ago, we caught them at The Narrows Center in Fall River, where Simmonds' superb rhythm section was two fellows in their 30s, while Simmonds – by then in his 60s – was still the riveting frontman, uncorking blistering solos. As recently as 2017, Savoy Brown's "Witchy Feelin'" album hit the top spot on the Billboard blues chart.

The new album surely continues that line of excellent music, but the unfortunate truth is that Simmonds lost his battle with cancer Dec. 13, a week after he turned 75. As his chemotherapy led to neuropathy affecting the nerves in his hands, Simmonds compensated on the final sessions by playing more slide guitar. The dozen songs on the new album, all written by Simmonds, provide a good sampler of all the many blues-rock styles he and the band have embodied through the years. The title cut is a swinging midtempo blues-rocker, where Simmonds' fluid style is in prime form, and his vocals ring out strong and clear. "Can't Go Back to My Hometown" is easy rolling rock 'n' soul, while "California Days Gone By" provides a wistful look at the band's halcyon days. Bassist Pat DeSalvo and drummer Garnet Grimm are a first-rate rhythm section, and these invigorating tunes leap off the turntable. Kim Simmonds has left Savoy Brown fans one final gift to remember him by, as well as a quote: "Life is energy. Music is energy."

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THURSDAY: Pete Francis from the band Dispatch is performing solo at City Winery. Country-rock with Scarlett Drive at Brighton Music Hall. The Scottish folk trio Talisk at The Crystal Ballroom. Munk Duane at The Rivershed.

FRIDAY: Rebels, a Tom Petty tribute, at Soundcheck Studios. Carrie Underwood headlines TD Garden. Boyz II Men at MGM Music Hall. White Buffalo at The Paradise Rock Club. Steven Sanchez at Brighton Music Hall. The Jake Ash Band at Loretta's. Dave Foley lights up The Indian Head Pub. Canadian R&B duo DVSN at the House of Blues.

SATURDAY: Brett Wilson's tribute to Sublime at Soundcheck Studios. The Subtronics at MGM Music Hall. Songwriters Alan Doyle and Chris Trapper at City Winery. The Viagra Boys, a Swedish rock band, heat up Royale. A celebration of the music of Prince and David Bowie at The Sinclair. Tenderheds rock Bill's Bar. The Valerie Barretto Band heats up New World Tavern. Heartbreaker, a Led Zep tribute, at Venus-3.

SUNDAY: DJ duo Loud Luxury at The House of Blues.

American Authors

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 19

Where: Brighton Music Hall, 158 Brighton Ave., Boston

Tickets: $25 and available through TicketMaster or crossroadspresents.com

This article originally appeared on The Patriot Ledger: 'Best Day of My Life' Boston-bred band returns with new album, tour