“The perfect soundtrack for summer”. That’s just how Acoustic Café host Rob Reinhart described the latest album, In Mind, by the New Jersey-based band Real Estate during their performance at the Leon Loft on May 11.

Layered, rhythmic tones wrapped the audience as warm lyrics filled the room. During set breaks, the bandmates spoke of meeting in elementary school and middle school, and how they kept in touch through the college years, innately connected to the one thing they all shared—a passion for music.

“Musically, these are some of the first people I ever played with and that’s pretty cool,” said bassist Alex Bleeker.

Recent changes to the group’s line-up spurred new changes for the band this year along with a new style and sound that emerged as they set to work on finishing their fourth album.

“It was a blessing in disguise when our line-up changed. We’re all musicians in our own rights and it allowed us to incorporate new influences. It felt very natural. It allowed us to be creative and really the opportunity to be different people than who we were on the last album,” lead guitarist Martin Courtney explained.

During the performance, the band played songs including “Darling”, “Stained Glass”, “Saturday”, “White Light”, and “Diamond Eyes”. As the set concluded, the band’s pursuit of their passion came to light when asked if it was true that a band member’s parents were in fact real estate agents. Lead guitarist, Martin Courtney, chuckled and said “My parents are real estate agents. They suggested we all get our licenses in case music didn’t work out. Now, they love that their son is in a band.”

 

You can watch Part 2 of Real Estate’s performance at the Leon Loft here and view photographs from the show on Facebook.

Because music is our first love, we created the Leon Loft, a dedicated performance space at our headquarters in Ann Arbor, MI. At this intimate, live venue, we’ve had the pleasure of welcoming some of today’s biggest artists for a live recording of Acoustic Café with Rob Reinhart, all broadcast live on ann arbor’s 107one. For more information about the Leon Loft, visit www.leonloft.com or watch past performances on our YouTube channel.