Jesse Roper

With a famously raucous live show, a diverse history of international touring, burgeoning streaming numbers, sync placements in major TV shows, and an ever-expanding fanbase, Jesse Roper returns with Horizons, his third album and first full-length release in over four years.

In the time between Roper’s last record, Access to Infinity (2018) and this year’s Horizons, much has changed. Previously, Roper’s sound was still searching for a quality that he’d yet to fully realize, and has since discovered through melding an vast pool of influences unlike ever before; from 70s Motown, Soul, acoustic rock, and Funk-laden Blues.

Working closely with famed, Juno-nominated producer, Gus van Go, (Metric, The Stills, Arkells, The Trews, Sam Roberts) on this new collection of songs has pushed Roper into creating some of his best work.

“Recording with Gus and Werner F was on a whole new level. They really cared where the songs were headed and that they ended up just right”, Roper shares. “Everything was broken down to the finest details and nothing was allowed to sit at just ‘ok’. It was all about getting the vibe right.”

And the vibe is certainly right. There’s a depth and a confidence to this new body of work that hasn’t necessarily been at the forefront of Roper’s previous offerings; one that expresses his maturity as both a songwriter and artist. With a richer infusion of vintage R&B and Retro Soul as a background, Roper’s powerful vocals are have a vibrant skyline to soar over. Like contemporaries Nathaniel Rateliff, Michael Kiwanuka and Jack White, Roper tells his story with heart, and a growl to match; conjuring music a heartfelt story, without pulling any punches

Roper’s return is buoyed by an all-star band of drummer Josh Dion (John Scofield, Paris Monster), saxophonist Tony Jarvis (Sharon Jones & The Dap Kings, Charles Bradley, Phish), and bass by Horizons’ producer, Gus Van Go himself. Title track, “Horizons,” is propelled forward by pulsing percussion, driving guitar, and breezy brass, with Roper’s expansive vocals taking centre stage. The layered production style lends itself to a mysterious, almost seductive edge to Roper’s soulful refrains; it tantalizes and charms, hooking the listener in.

No stranger to big crowds and life on the road, Roper’s live shows are a tour de force. Backed by the Pretty Good Band, his magnetic stage presence is renowned across Canada and beyond. A maverick figure, he’s equal parts charismatic, mischievous and talented in spades. Roper has opened for Canadian legends, Colin James, Burton Cummings, and many more high-profile artists and contemporaries., He’s toured North America with Canadian-American rockers, Big Wreck, while cultivating his own teeming audience base. From selling thousands of tickets a show in his home province of BC to selling out shows in far-reaching territories, Jesse Roper’s steady transformation into a Canadian Rock luminary is clear. Roper has also found new audiences through prudent song placements on a plethora of shows and movies including Riverdale (The CW), The Equalizer (CBS), ABC’s The

Rookie and more. With tracks racking up millions of streams and six-figure monthly listeners on Spotify alone, his global fan base is constantly growing.

For Roper, this isn’t the end, or even the middle. This is still the emergence… The first part of a journey with much more to come. Music is a lifelong pursuit for those that embody it so completely and have chosen to continue on its path.

Look out for Jesse Roper, a rising star burning brightly upon the horizon.

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