{"id":27953,"date":"2026-08-31T08:32:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T12:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/?p=27953"},"modified":"2026-08-30T19:46:38","modified_gmt":"2026-08-30T23:46:38","slug":"for-musician-adam-ezra-99-the-live-show-lives-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/2026\/08\/31\/for-musician-adam-ezra-99-the-live-show-lives-on\/","title":{"rendered":"For Musician Adam Ezra ’99, The Live Show Lives On"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As a rule, musician Adam Ezra \u201999 never walks on stage with a setlist. Instead, he says, he simply reads the room.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ve ever talked to someone who knows all the things they\u2019re going to say before the conversation starts, it can be a pretty uninspiring conversation,\u201d says Ezra, guitarist and vocalist for the Adam Ezra Group. \u201cI want our shows to feel as much like a conversation as a performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That approach is central to how Ezra, whose full name is Adam Ezra Olshansky, and his band have built a following over the past 25 years \u2014 slowly, and almost entirely through live shows. What began in bars and small clubs has grown into a national following, with fans traveling across the country to attend concerts and annual gatherings celebrating the band\u2019s music. In June the folk-rock group headlined Boston\u2019s House of Blues \u2014 its biggest show to date \u2014 and released its latest album, Revelate<\/em>, which draws on Ezra\u2019s experiences as a touring musician and father.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The band\u2019s rise began more than two decades ago in and around Boston, Ezra\u2019s hometown. \u201cI think we played every dirty, nasty bar in New England,\u201d Ezra recalls, joking that the band \u201coften outnumbered the audience.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But those audiences grew. Listeners brought friends and over time, that loyal following became a community \u2014 and a defining part of the band\u2019s shows. Fans, who refer to themselves collectively as \u201cthe Traveling Village,\u201d don\u2019t just watch; they participate. Some songs include call-and-response moments or well-timed claps, and over the years, fans have developed relationships not only with the band, but also with one another.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Their devotion is about more than just the music, according to Ezra. At a time when many interactions take place through screens, he says, people are hungry for genuine, in-person connection.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think there is a deep longing in us for connection. It\u2019s at the deepest core of who we are as people,\u201d he says. \u201c[At our shows] it feels like we\u2019re offering something that doesn\u2019t exist much anymore.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For a band that thrives on real-life interaction, the COVID-19 pandemic posed an obvious challenge. With live shows on hold, Ezra turned to livestreaming, performing nightly from home as a way to stay connected. Over 500 consecutive nights, fans tuned in as he tested new material, often sharing songs before they were finished and refining them in real time. Many of those songs went on to become part of Revelate<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The livestream series also inspired the band\u2019s annual Winter Gathering, a multiday festival at Vermont\u2019s Lake Morey Resort, where the group performs nightly and band members socialize and dine with fans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another opportunity for fans to connect \u2014 and give back \u2014 comes each August in Ashburnham, Mass., during The Ramble. Now in its 17th year, the pay-what-you-can festival hosted by the Adam Ezra Group and their nonprofit RallySound has raised funds to support veterans facing homelessness. Last summer\u2019s event drew nearly 1,500 fans (\u201cRamblers\u201d) and raised $161,000 for the New England Center and Home for Veterans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a testament to the power of small communities when we\u2019re able to come together to do a little good in the world,\u201d Ezra says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Ezra welcomes the band\u2019s growing audience and success, he acknowledges that it has also changed some of the dynamics that helped build their following in the first place. Larger venues come with radius clauses \u2014 contractual restrictions that limit how often an artist can perform in the same market \u2014 which means fewer shows in a given area and fewer opportunities for the kind of intimate audience connection that shaped the band\u2019s early years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ezra, however, isn\u2019t overly concerned. After all, he has spent 25 years learning how to connect with whoever is in front of him, whether it\u2019s hundreds of people in a theater or a handful in a bar. No matter the venue, he says, the band still ends every show with \u201cThe Toast,\u201d a song about appreciating the people around you and the moment you\u2019re sharing together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI love how every show starts out feeling like we are a bunch of individuals in a room,\u201d he says. \u201cBut by the end, if we\u2019ve done it right, it feels like we\u2019re a community, having experienced something together.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n

One of the most personal tracks on Revelate <\/em>is \u201cPocket Full of Seashells,\u201d inspired by Ezra\u2019s habit of collecting seashells during his travels to bring home to his daughters.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\"Man
A former Colgate lacrosse player, musician Adam Ezra ’99 got his start playing at dive bars in and around Boston. <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Musician Adam Ezra Olshansky \u201999 has built up a following over the past 25 years through live shows. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1263,"featured_media":27977,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_hide_featured_image":false,"_jetpack_featured_image_duplicate_dismissed":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,2],"tags":[354,84],"coauthors":[1720],"class_list":["post-27953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-alumni-spotlights","category-alumni-updates","tag-alumni","tag-music"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/palXSH-7gR","amp_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/6\/2026\/08\/AdamEzraBand_gallery.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1263"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27953"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27953\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28145,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27953\/revisions\/28145"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27977"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27953"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.colgate.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=27953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}