Five impressive new songwriters in the folk and Americana scene

Ben Strawn – “Blackberry Wine”
-Ben Strawn is an excellent songwriter, as evidenced by the melody, pacing, and vocal on this song “Blackberry Wine.” There’s a definite parallel with a few others in the modern folk scene, including Drew Holcomb. When that steel guitar rings out on the chorus of this song, some kind of joyful energy enters the track. This is what contemporary folk music is all about right here.

Patrick Jordan – “A Woman Like You”
-The comparison for Patrick Jordan is pretty easily John Mayer, but I invite listeners to take a step beyond that. Jordan has his own Americana flavor that’s a bit more rooted in a historical sound. The poppy blues flavor of this track goes down really smooth. If you’ve ever experienced unrequited love, this song will resonate. It hurts so good to feel this bad, right?

Jesse Reid – “I’ve got you”
-Sometimes you click play on a song and are absolutely blown away by the vocal and production. That happened with me when I found this breathtaking track from Jesse Reid. The delicate balance between the acoustic guitar and the lead vocal hits in a place I struggle to explain. This is soulfully pleasing, with a depth that rarely gets captured in a song. If you’ve ever been in love with your best friend, this song will soothe your soul.

Ariana Brophy – “Aurora”
-You could listen to about a thousand demos before you find a song as charming as “Aurora” from Brophy. This kind of chromatic singing is exceptional and extremely rare. Something about the acoustic folk sound reminds me a bit of Joni Mitchell, but really Brophy’s work stands on its own. This is a beautiful track for fans of acoustic, poetic singer songwriters.

Jason Piquette – “Between the Lines”
-We’ve been covering Piquette a lot this year, so you know his music is some of our favorite that we’ve found. That said, if this is your first time hearing about Jason Piquette you better put down everything and focus. Listen carefully to the intellectual lyrics. The production quality is excellent. The delicate balance between Piquette’s careful vocal work with a backing band that permeates the track — it’s really something amazing. I continue to be impressed by each track.