Free at Noon Flashback: Citizen Cope celebrates record release day with WXPN

Citizen Cope | photo by Emily De Hart for WXPN | dehartvisuals.com

Citizen Cope‘s record release day is off to a good start. The soulful rocker was met by an extremely enthusiastic sold-out crowd at today’s Free at Noon; folks were clearly ready to escape from the snowy morning and celebrate with Cope as he shares his new record Heroin and Helicopters with the world. And the day’s still young — Citizen Cope will head across town to play a headlining show at Franklin Music Hall tonight.

Citizen Cope (a.k.a. Clarence Greenwood) is known for doing things his own way, without giving in to the pressure of the music industry — Heroin and Helicopters is his first album in seven long years, and the songwriter released it on his own label Rainwater Recordings. It’s an album about dealing with personal struggles in an impersonal society, yet it carries a sense of optimism throughout. Cope told Billboard in a recent interview, “I think everybody feels like there are elements in this world that are not so fuzzy and warm, and we see the harshness in the reality of life. Life is not an easy thing, but we need to look for a commonality of love and empathy that can conquer even the worse situations.”

That’s certainly the message behind his single “Justice,” which sees Cope focusing on the silver lining that outweighs the bad stuff, singing, “There’s so much trouble in the world / Surrounded by miracles / There’s so much hatred undeserved / But it will not work.” Already a fan favorite, he included “Justice” early in his set with some other new songs, and rounded out the rest of the with a series of familiar older tunes, including “Son’s Gonna Rise” and “Bullet And A Target,” each met with louder cheers than the last.

Tickets are still available for Citizen Cope’s show at Franklin Music Hall tonight. Find more information on the XPN Concert Calendar.

Setlist:
The River
Hours On End
Justice
Sally Walks
Son’s Gonna Rise
Sideways
Bullet And A Target
Let The Drummer Kick