Lee DeWyze

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More About

• Lee DeWyze
• American Idol
• Taylor Hicks
• Arts, Entertainment, and Media
• Celebrity News

Lee DeWyze garnered millions of votes to win Season 9 of American Idol, then watched as those votes failed to translate into sales for post-Idol disc Live It Up. That was a shame: The 25-year old Illinois native has raw talent to spare, and there was an undeniably voyeuristic feel to his televised performances as his unvarnished vocals slalomed unevenly between triumph and failure. Live sands down that roughness, offering listeners an intense-if-tamed version of the DeWyze experience—you know, that burly-boy-next-door honesty, that burlap-teddy-bear soulfulness. (Seriously, dude isn't as far removed from Taylor Hicks territory as his boosters would like to believe.) We're willing to gamble that live, bearded DeWyze remains more spontaneous than studio-based, reined-in DeWyze, and we advise you to take those odds. All ages.
Wed., June 22, 6 p.m., 2011