If you hop on the metro in downtown DC, head towards Virginia and take it to the end of the line, that’s where you’ll find the hometown of award-winning songwriter and multi-instrumentalist AJ Smith. Raised in the suburbs of a city where the chief exports are consultants and government contractors, Smith attended the world-renowned Thomas Jefferson High School for Science & Technology, considered by many to be the #1 public high school in the US. Yet, despite receiving numerous scholarship offers to pursue degrees in engineering from Johns Hopkins, Carnegie Mellon, and others, Smith moved to New York City in 2009 to study music under GRAMMY-winning songwriters including Eagles legend Glenn Frey, Phil Galdston, Rosanne Cash, and more. Since then, the indie musician has enjoyed a whirlwind of successes both on stage and off, opening for the Eagles, Lindsey Stirling, Emily Kinney, and more while being recognized as the Songwriting Scholar of the Year in subsequent years by the Songwriters Hall of Fame and Carole Bayer Sager Scholarship. He’s performed in the off-Broadway sensation What’s It All About? Bacharach Reimagined, been named one of SummerFest’s emerging artists of 2016, and made his major radio debut right in his hometown via iHeart’s DC101. In his new EP, “Brooklyn Nights” – a collaboration between Smith and GRAMMY-winning producer Scott Jacoby – Smith puts his songwriting, musicianship, and sense of adventure on full display. “Whenever I write or sing a song, my biggest hope is that it can connect with my audience and make them smile or laugh or cry. Creating that emotional connection is one of music’s most valuable qualities and is very important to me.” “Brooklyn Nights” certainly connects on all levels with hard-hitting nostalgia, rebelliousness, emotion, and power. All five songs on the masterfully crafted release sound like they’ve always been you’re your favorite, even on first listen and they speak with such a passion that you can be confident Smith has a long and promising career ahead.