I first discovered Portland native Corey Harper back in 2016, when he opened for Justin Bieber on the West Coast leg of his “Purpose Tour.” Strapped with a guitar, Harper managed to command and impress an arena full of die-hard beliebers. So when he returned to Portland the following year (he now lives in LA) to play a nearly sold-out show at Mississippi Studios, I decided to slide through and see what his solo concerts were all about. As I stood among a hometown crowd of his loudest fans/friends/family members, I became increasingly smitten with Harper’s understated vocals, blues-affected guitar solos, and the passion he brought to the songs from his On the Run EP, as well as an arsenal of stellar covers.
Harper’s follow-up EP Barely Put Together was released August 2 on AWAL Recordings. The project is five tracks of folk rock/Americana that illustrate his rocky but rewarding journey to self-discovery.
