Gabe Lopez, Up on the Housetop Review

Gabe Lopez is a California based singer and songwriter voted by Music Connection Magazine as one of L.A.’s Hot 100 Artists. He is signed to RONDOR/UNIVERSAL as a songwriter where he has produced and written for BELINDA CARLISLE, NEW KIDS ON THE BLOCK, THE GO-GO’s, JOEY McINTYRE, JAMES BROWN, KRAYZIE BONE, LELAND, RUPAUL’S DRAG RACE, TWICE, CHARICE, TYLER HILTON, MS. TRINITI, SHINEE, TAE YANG, SUPERJUNIOR, THE OTHER TWO on COMEDY CENTRAL, STREETLIGHT HARMONIES SOUNDTRACK, GAYME SHOW, IN2IT, VERIVERY and more. Lopez has recently crossed the U.S. and U.K. opening for Belinda Carlisle. The tour has hit stages such as the Indigo at the O2, Manchester Academy, Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, The Fonda in L.A., and B.B. King’s NYC. Lopez’s album GOD BLESS THE QUEENS was released on November 9, 2018, on Spectra Records and distributed through Sony. His music is regularly heard on Sirius XM Radio, iHeart Radio, and F.M. radio and debuted in the TOP 100 NEW RELEASES on iTunes. Lopez’s singles “LASSO” and “CALIFORNIA BLUES” features the pop icon BELINDA CARLISLE. Lopez is now turning his production, arranging, playing, and singing skills to the Christmas classic, “Up on the Housetop.”

Bottom Line: Gabe Lopez creates a stirring arrangement of the classic Christmas tune “Up on the Housetop” all in the BOX! Lopez states, “So, I did a thing this week. I created a big band with my one-man-band. I really enjoyed producing, arranging, playing, and singing this Christmas classic. I hope you like it. Happy holidays to all!” The arrangement starts with a walking bass line, horn hits, and a Basie style piano figure; the energy is high from the start. Lopez’s singing is playful, technically solid, and his inflections are entertaining. The horns all sound natural and fill around Lopez’s vocal beauty. The shout chorus has energy, and the break-down section is fun and shows Lopez’s vocal range. The build to the climax is a mix of classic big band sounds and excellent singing from Lopez. Lopez has some pipes, and he is blowing the roof off with ’em. That’s the short of it!