WPLN News Feature - June 3, 2008 - Nashville Public Radio
You may know Peter Cooper as a music writer for “The Tennessean,” and magazines like “No Depression” and “Esquire.” What you may not realize is that Cooper’s also a first-rate singer-songwriter.

Peter Cooper - Mission Door - June 2008 - Music Connection
As a journalist, Peter Cooper covers the Nashville music scene; with this debut, it’s apparent that he’s a monumental wordsmith in his own right.

Peter Cooper - Mission Door - May 2008 - Performing Songwriter
It’s little wonder Peter Cooper’s songs are so articulate. A renowned journalist and critic, Cooper successfully transitions to making music with this affecting debut on Red Beet Records, the start-up label founded by the band Last Train Home.

Peter of All Trades - May 15, 2008 - Fairfax Connection
Most of my music-making was of the underground variety until an artist named Todd Snider asked if I would go out and open some tour dates for him. Several hundred dominos later, I have an album out and I'm touring the world.

Peter Cooper - Mission Door - March 10, 2008 - Pop Matters
Let’s get one thing straight here: me writing about Peter Cooper, one of the most prolific country music critics and scholars in the business (he teaches country music history at Vanderbilt and has written for numerous music publications), is a little like Avril Lavigne talking smack on Debbie (sorry, Deborah) Harry: the cocky, young upstart should never criticize the master.

Peter Cooper - Mission Door - April 28, 2008 - Audiophile Audition
Mission Door is Peter Cooper’s first solo album—a cool mix of alt-country, indie rock, classic country, folk, and Americana. The amazing amount of pedal steel guitar (jaw-droppingly played by veteran Lloyd Green) makes it sound more country than it really is, but this is refreshingly original, intellectually sharp, and emotionally satisfying music of the first order.

Peter Cooper, Mission Door - April 2008 - No Depression
Album one by Peter Cooper, music critic for Nashville daily The Tennessean and an occasional No Depression contributor, reflects a flair for thoughtful storytelling in the traditions of John Prine, Tom T. Hall and Jim Lauderdale, warmy complemented throughout by co-producer Lloyd Green's pedal steel virtuosity.

FAME Review - April 2008 - Folk and Acoustic Music Exchange
Mission Door is the initial collection of songs from this songwriter who spent earlier incarnations writing about musicians and music and absorbing what his heroes said; it is apparent he has learned these lessons.

Mission Door Review - April 2008 - American Songwriter Magazine
Cooper wears many hats: journalist, producer, professor. And on Mission Door, he sports his finest songwriting cap. This 12-track effort rejuvenates like a hot mineral spring, with each song hoisted up by a plainspoken honesty and delivered via Cooper's no frills vocals.

Peter Cooper's Mission Door - April 15, 2008 - hickorywind.org
I've listened to Peter Cooper's "Mission Door" about half a dozen times in the last 24 hours and if the year keeps going like this my 2008 top ten list is going to get pretty crowded.

Listen Up - Music Views, News, and Reviews - April 2008 - USAToday
I've never met Peter Cooper, but we have talked on several occasions when he's done stories for USA TODAY. I knew he was a musician and played with Todd Snider, but his own album came as a surprise to me -- and a welcome one.

Lyrics Recall Aaron's Swing, Style - April 13, 2008 - The Oregonian
Peter Cooper wrote a baseball song, one about Hank Aaron, his life, and the day he broke Babe Ruth's home run record. Why? Well, Barry Bonds was one reason.

Mission Door Review - April 2008 - Country Standard Time
It's boggling to think that this is Peter Cooper's debut. The writing is mature, the arrangements thoughtful and artistic. This is storytelling in song by the Nashville-based music journalist. His lyrics are often as brash as introspective.

Review - April 2008 - Green Man Review
Peter Cooper is a music journalist in Nashville, and he also turns out to be one hell of a songwriter and singer. He's really a story-teller of the first rank, as he proves in the 10 originals on his album Mission Door.

Cooper's Music Derived from Original Thinking - March 28, 2008 - Daily Gamecock
South Carolina native Peter Cooper returns to Columbia this weekend on Saturday at the Unitarian Universalist Coffeehouse in support of his new album "Mission Door."

Former Spartanburg resident Cooper to release album at The Showroom - March 27, 2008 - GoUpstate.com
Peter Cooper's new album, “Mission Door,” opens with “Boy Genius,” a song about realizing that maybe you didn't live up to all that potential you once thought you had.

Peter Cooper, Fayssoux McLean - March 25, 2008 - Columbia Free Times
You might not have heard of either of these Spartanburg-rooted performers, but you’re certainly acquainted with the A-list group of folks that appear on their respective debut albums.

This Week's Playlist: Folk Meets Rock - March 25, 2008 - USAToday
Utterly transfixing country-folk meditation on Hank Aaron, Babe Ruth, baseball and the South just in time for opening day.

Mission Door - March 2008 - Sharkbitten.com
It’s incredibly easy to sit here on our critic’s thrown and lob our opinions down the mountain at artists. Our opinions, for what little they’re actually worth, are nearly anonymous.

Mission Door Preview/Review - March 2008 - Nashville Scene
Whether he’s covering it in The Tennessean, discussing it on CMT or teaching about it in a college course, Peter Cooper is always associated with high-quality country, bluegrass and other tradition-steeped music.

Mission Door Review - March 14, 2008 - Washington Post
Peter Cooper has a voice that makes me think of furniture in a roadside motel: a little worn, nothing fancy, but sturdy enough to get the job done. The job in question is delivering moody songs with evocative lyrics.

Opening the Mission Door - February 7, 2008 - Pasadena Weekly
Balance can be mighty elusive for a writer. As a songwriter, you can spend so much time inside your own head that you lose touch with everyday reality. If you write about music, you can get so mired in the deadline grind that you lose track of what inspired you to start writing.

Peter Cooper "Cautionary Tales" - 2008 - Rootsy.nu
Normally, he's a much recognized music journalist with a good reputation within the industry. But now, it's time for Peter Cooper's debut album, praised by people like Kris Kristofferson and Todd Snider.

Tunes from the Turf - July 25, 2007 - Homer Tribune
Folksy storyteller Peter Cooper, who played early this spring with Nashville performer Todd Snider, returns to open Sunday's show. "I loved it up there," Cooper said from his place in Nashville. "I fell in love with it. I mean, I walked into KBBI and the DJ was practically playing my own record collection."

Pen to Paper, Prose to Performing - June 19, 2006 - Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
I’ll start with Peter Cooper. I stumbled across his music somewhat by accident recently when he was the unannounced opener for Todd Snider. I didn’t know who Peter Cooper was. I do now and, in my not-so-humble opinion, so should you.

Clown Juice EP - March 16, 2005 - Sharkbitten.com
Somewhere between the surreal memories of life in the 90s and that timeless country sound that now only exists on oldies stations and in my mind lies Peter Cooper. With a nod toward Don Williams and a foot firmly planted in the irony of our more recent musical past, Cooper writes music as if he were witness to things most of us ignore.