Still Turning Out

AJR speaks on inspirations, album art and Raleigh.

After gaining the spotlight with their 2014 hit “I’m Ready,” AJR has evolved their sound via the release of five more albums—and continues to snag spots on the Billboard Hot 100. 

On the heels of their fifth album release Nov. 10 with The Maybe Man, the NYC-based siblings, Adam, Jack and Ryan—aka the “AJR” acronym—are embarking on a 43-city stadium tour launching in April, with Raleigh slated as the band of brothers’ sixth pit stop April 9 at PNC Arena.

We caught up with two-thirds of the trio, Jack and Ryan Met, ahead of their Raleigh show for the intel on which artists inspired their sound, album art inspo and thoughts about their first-ever stadium tour. Come hang out!  

Welcome back to Raleigh! What can we expect from your upcoming performance? 

Ryan: Our favorite thing about being a band is touring. Our goal is to put something onstage that you’ve never seen before. That’s been the thesis statement of this whole thing: How can we combine Broadway storytelling, magical illusions and cinematic CGI to create something that will make people go, ‘What did I just see?’ For a long time, we had a shoestring budget and not a lot to play with. … This is the first tour we’ve ever done where we can confidently say everything we wanted onstage will be there. 

Feelings about four months on tour?

Jack: It’s a lot—especially in a show so choreographed and complex. You can’t go on autopilot; you have to think about it every step of the way. It makes it more stressful, but [also] more fun. It’s cool to have those stakes—it makes touring less boring and monotonous.

Other than Madison Square Garden, what stops are you getting hype about in particular? 

Ryan: LA, The Kia Forum is going to be really fun—that’s just a really iconic venue. Denver and Salt Lake City are always great [too]. 

Jack: And don’t forget about Raleigh! 

What are your favorite songs to perform live?

Ryan: The new songs are always the most fun. ‘World’s Smallest Violin’ blew up for us recently on TikTok. Now, the fact that it’s so big gave [it] a new meaning—and it’s really surreal to play a song that was meant to be a deep cut. It was more for us to write a Broadway wacky song and not the most popular one off the album, so it’s cool. Very unexpected. 

Any least fave songs to perform? 

Ryan: We don’t not like the song but we don’t play ‘I’m Ready’ anymore. That was really fun—but it’s not us anymore. 

Apart from your debut album, all your cover art is pretty similar. What’s the scoop on your new look—and why the change? 

Ryan: All we had was that successful song (‘I’m Ready’) and that [was] it. We didn’t know anything about being a big band. We went on tour and no one showed up. We realized we hadn’t thought through what the band was [beyond] making catchy songs. [People] want something to connect to—and no one thought that about ‘I’m Ready.’ It’s like a background party song. 

We started finding our lyrical voice, and with that came the album and art styles of the weird versions of ourselves in the world we’ve created. We recreated the lyrics, albums and songs to make sure we were being entirely us—and then people started showing up to the shows. 

Which artists are your biggest inspirations? 

Ryan: [Our] first love was The Beach Boys. I think we fell in love with the harmonies, emotion and ability to write songs about surfing and deep love songs about falling out of love. We base a lot of our sound on them. In a more modern sense, fun. [They] are a really big influence in terms of how theatrical and uncool they could be, [with songs that are] Broadway meets hip-hop. Fun. taught us to be ourselves and do what we really wanna do. 

Go-to snack or way to wind down post-performance? 

Ryan: Usually sushi. If you walked into the dressing room after the show, there would just be total silence and the sound of us chewing. The adrenaline wears off. We think of parts we can change tomorrow. But it’s pretty silent. 

Do you have any advice for new aspiring creatives? 

Jack: We’re always aspiring. 

Ryan: Figuring out what you can say that no one else can say is a really daunting idea, but if you can figure out exactly the types of words that fit with your voice, that’s the key. A good example is our line in ‘Bang!’: ‘Put quinoa in my fridge.’ I truly can’t think of any other voice that could sing that and have it be a hit on radio other than Jack’s voice. I think there are a lot of things Jack can’t sing about that [other artists] can. That was a big thing, figuring out exactly what our unique sound is. If you can get to that, you’ll be successful. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add? 

Ryan: See you in Raleigh! It will be a great show. 

*Answers lightly edited for length and clarity.