Ray LaMontagne was born in New Hampshire but as he put it his family was just passing through His parents split up shortly after his birth and his mother began a pattern of moving her six children wherever she could find employment and housing which …

Irish singer/songwriter Damien Rice started out in 1997 in a band called Juniper, which was signed to a major deal but fell apart before it could make a full album. Shortly after that, Rice hit the road as a solo artist. His first album, 2003's O, in…

In a crossover worthy of soap star-turned-rocker Rick Springfield, professional surfer Jack Johnson emerged as one of the hottest pop stars of the early '00s. The interesting thing is that, amid hordes of teen-poppers and nu-metallists, he came to fa…

Welsh singer-songwriter David Gray's story is the classic scenario of the overnight success that took years to happen. He emerged in the early 1990s as an acoustic-based artist heavily influenced by old-school troubadours like Bob Dylan and Van Morri…

Singer/songwriter Ben Harper, who hails from Pomona, CA, debuted in 1994 with WELCOME TO THE CRUEL WORLD. Harper's idiosyncratic mix of blues, folk, rock, funk, and reggae made an instant splash. His distinctive use of the dobro-like Weissenborn guit…

In 2000, Coldplay emerged seemingly out of nowhere to become a worldwide smash with their debut album PARACHUTES and hit single "Yellow." They're generally lumped in with the Britpop crowd, but, like Travis, they favor a more thoughtful, melodic pop …

Iron & Wine is the artistic alias of Florida singer/songwriter Sam Beam, who crafts delicate songs full of poetic lyrics and simple, haunting melodies. Beam delivers his tunes in a hushed, Nick Drake-like voice and frames them with spare, mostly acou…

John Mayer emerged in 2001 as the fresh young face for a new generation of earnest singer-songwriters. While Mayer's work is as confessional, intimate, and acoustic-guitar-based as that of old-schoolers like James Taylor and Jackson Browne, his appro…

Though he had always enjoyed singing during his childhood in Cleveland OH Joshua Radin had never intended to be a musician He studied drawing and painting in college and only after stints working in a gallery as an art teacher and as a screenwriter d…

In late 2003 things picked up rapidly and a bit weirdly for folkie Alexi Murdoch Moving to balmy Los Angeles from Scotland in the late 90s Murdoch let the sleepy weepy UK folk sound seep into indie and lo-fi influences But he never did much with his …

Singer-songwriter Ryan Adams started out as the leader of Whiskeytown, one of the most highly regarded alt-country bands of the late 1990s. By 2000, he was a solo artist, delivering a mostly acoustic set of Dylanesque tunes on HEARTBREAKER. By the ti…

Glasgow-via-Belfast indie-rock ensemble Snow Patrol have played everything from shambolic noise-pop a la Pavement, to a slightly droney post-rock in the vein of Mogwai, to epic lovelorn anthems modeled after Coldplay. While the band's influences are …

When young singer/pianist Norah Jones arrived in New York City from Texas, few expected that within a couple of years she'd be a chart-topping, MTV-friendly, press-besieged sensation. Yet she charmed listeners by the truckload with her 2002 Blue Not…

Formed in the Pacific Northwest during the late 1990s, Death Cab for Cutie deals in guitar rock that is informed by a striking sensitivity. Led by singer/guitarist Benjamin Gibbard, the group straddles the line between indie and emo rock, earning the…

b. Clarence Greenwood, Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Urban beatnik Citizen Cope is the creation of multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Greenwood. His moniker derives from a nickname and he entered the music scene in the early 90s as DJ for Marylan…

U.K. pop-rock phenomenon James Blunt was an officer in the British Army (serving four years in Kosovo) before taking the British music world by storm with his 2005 single "You're Beautiful." Blunt's shimmering, piano-based singer-songwriter approach …

Cary Brothers best known as of 2005 for Blue Eyes the gorgeously articulate ballad he contributed to the previous years Grammy-winning hip-artist-showcasing Garden State soundtrack is by most accounts every bit as astute a businessman as he is a wry …

As the singer guitarist and main songwriter of Australias Men at Work Colin Hay was responsible for penning several of the quirkiest pop hits of the early 80s Although he and his former band will forever be associated with the land down under Hay ori…

Nebraska-born singer-songwriter Josh Rouse, who started his recording career after moving to Nashville, began in an organic, rootsy vein. By the time of his third album, UNDER COLD BLUE STARS, he had graduated to a more pop-oriented approach with inc…

London-based Matt Hales aka Aqualung started getting involved in music at a young age while listening to different tracks played at his parents Southampton record store At the age of 16 after achieving a scholarship the enthusiastic young man began a…