New Artist: Stephen Gordon

Two weekends ago, Ashley McMillen and I were in Starkville for the weekend. We needed to kill some time after dinner on Friday night, so being the hipsters that we are, we stopped by a local coffee shop since I heard there was going to be some live music. Normally such performances are decent. You go in, sip your coffee and carry on a conversations while neat music plays in the background. This night, though, was so superior.

We got in just after the first performance, so we only heard a song or two by Drew Gatlin, but it was still very good. The highlight of the night, though, was Nashville Americana/Folk artist Stephen Gordon.

As soon as I heard the first few strums on the acoustic guitar, I was smitten. His voice was so clear and you could hear the emotion behind each song. It was as if the guitar and Stephen were inviting you to go on a musical journey through a grove of autumn trees as afternoon sunlight streams through the leaves and a light breeze plays with the shadows. Not being a well-known artist in our area, he knew exactly how to keep the audience's attention with stories about the songs, and even requesting an audience sing-a-long for "Bones," which after buying his albums, I Have Seen Your Shining Spirit and VA, remains my favorite song.

To give you a little insight into his sound, it's like someone took Chris Martin's voice (more toward Parachutes than the other albums) with a little Micheal Buble, mixed in some acoustic guitar plucking from Iron & Wine, and added just a touch of Blue Grass (think Avett Brothers and a little Fleet Foxes). Also, some of the tracks remind me slightly of The Fray, especially "Hearts Break Easier."

Check him out on MySpace. You won't regret it.