David Rosales

Fighting a boisterous room full of noisy bros, Californian folk singer David Rosales struggled to connect with the crowd. His tinny-sounding guitar didn't help much — it seemed like the bass strings were all muted for some reason — and his thin, uncertain voice couldn't penetrate the din. It's a shame, because he showed promise at times, running through a set composed of songs boasting considerable literacy in variations of Americana. From country-inflected to SoCal folk, Rosales showed his knack for a range of songcraft. Even if few of the songs broke through the room, Rosales stayed on point, commendably game for the challenge. For music of this nature, what is needed is either a quiet room or a performer charismatic enough to turn a loud room into a quiet one. We got neither.