Singer-guitarist Christian Lopez is only 19 years old, yet he has shared bills with the Zac Brown Band and the Dave Matthews Band. Now he’s fronting the Christian Lopez Band, a folksy rock group out of West Virginia that recently released its debut EP, Pilot—five songs with a little Phillip Phillips here (“Will I See You Again”) and some Mumford & Sons there (“Between Us”). Elsewhere, “Amiss” and “Man I Was Before” emerge as haunting ballads, tinged with shades of contemporary Americana and old-school country. Throughout the Appalachia-inspired arrangements, complete with banjo and smooth male-female vocal harmonies, you can hear the sound of a serious and talented new artist emerging.
