Lucy Rose: Middle of the Bed

I had the pleasure of seeing this gal with City & Colour in Nashville last night! Her voice is stellar (her stage presence paled in comparison with Dallas', but come on, she'll grow into it) and her lyrics are spectacular. Lucy Rose (Parton) is a rising British folk singer with a serious set of pipes. She released her first album in September 2012, and has since toured with Bombay Bicycle Club, Noah and the Whale and City & Colour. I can't wait until more people find out how awesome she really is, with her hauntingly melodic vocals and her telling lyrics!

Jacob Plant (remix of Oh Land ): Sun of a Gun

Jacob Plant, Britain, does an excellent job remixing an already awesome song, taking a track that's somewhat reminiscent of Katy Perry, with a doo-woop feel and throwing in some electronics that just mesh oh so well. They take the accents that already exist, and amplify them, playing the snap concept. 

Passenger: Let Her Go (Acoustic)

Passenger's Let Her Go showcases Mike  Rosenberg's melodically-clean picking, his crisp, clear voice and his amazing choice of subjects, as well as his song-writing abilities.

"Love comes slow,
and it goes so fast."

"Only miss the sun when it starts to snow
Only know you love her when you let her go
Only know you've been high when you're feeling low."

AJ Rafael and Tori Kelly (cover of Taylor Swift): Taylor Swift Medley

For the record: I in no way support Taylor Swift. She might throw some decent tunes out and look good doing it, but she's a terrible person. I know one of the fellows that she's dated and he doesn't say nice things about her personality (I'm sure there's a song about him--he's no angel, but he's a good guy) and she's worse to work with in the business.

Now, that aside, I've watched AJ grow over the years and his voice, energy and passion for music couldn't be better. Berkley has taught him great things. This medley is well done, as are his other medleys and covers, capturing the mood and sound of each song. In this instance, Tori and AJ's voice work together quite well, and I'm excited to see what he produces in the future!

Gregory Alan Isakov: Amsterdam

Gregory Alan Isakov is a native of South Africa, who moved to the states and discovered a passion for music. He now resides in Colorado and writes and performs some of the loveliest lyrics. His mellow voice and choice of topics makes for a mellow (if saddening, for those of us who aren't in love) experience. 

Jason Molina: A Sad Hard Change

Autumn Bird Songs was a vinyl I sought and COULD NOT FIND, when it was released. I should have pre-ordered it, but I lacked the information. Frantically, I searched for a brief time after its release to acquire my own copy (it'd not yet been released via CD). Then, one sad March day, I received news that Jason had died. Instantly, I was able to digitally acquire a copy, download it and fall into the rich tenor of his voice and his strings. I was not the same for about a month; I'm fairly sure this whole album was on repeat most of that time.


"I am not the same but you can't follow
I am not the same but you can't follow
I see the sun no more
and I see the sun no more.
'Been a sad hard change
It's been a sad hard change.
Had I known
Had I known."

Walk off the Earth (cover of Malvina Reynolds): Little Boxes

Walk off the Earth is a Canadian indie-rock band with an independent attitude, even though they're now signed onto a record label. Walk off the Earth has a reputation for doing some awesome low-budget videos, such as this cover, which includes an insane amount of boxes.

The song itself is a satire of the dysfunction of suburbia and the lack-luster life it produces, and they cover it in an interesting (if not apropo) fashion.