Ben Rector, Jesse Ruben corner love song crooner market
They’re a dime a dozen — the aspiring and established singer/songwriters who build their career around sweet acoustic melodies and crowd-captivating charm. Whether their records are products of basement recording booths and a network of friends, or the first release in label life, these soulful crooners appeal to the masses with their honest, self-written songs and stripped-down vocals. These are the five singer/songwriters on the rise we’re thinking about this week.
Ben Rector
The sensitive, soul-searching songwriter who tells the tale of falling in love: it’s a quickly cornered market. But Oklahoma native Ben Rector takes the lovable nice-guy charisma to a new level. The 25-year-old singer touts a collection of love songs, each painting the picture of his wife and their lyrically adorable story. And he’s achieved his success on his own accord, reaching number one on the singer/songwriter charts following the Sept. 13 release of his independent fourth album “Something Like This.” “Loving You is Easy” off 2010’s “Into the Morning” is one of his most popular — an upbeat, tongue-in-cheek look into love — while “She Is” from “Something Like This” is a personal No. 1, slowing things down for a more drum and piano-driven beat. Ben Rector is currently on tour with Needtobreathe and will be in Charlotte, N.C. March 2 and Charleston, S.C. March 3.
Jesse Ruben
He’s cute, quirky and between his knit beanie and dangerous smile, it’s a wonder Jesse Ruben hasn’t already become a 20-something sensation. The Berklee College of Music in Boston grad grew up in a musical family and each of his live performances are sprinkled with stories of childhood — both in and outside of music — only further crafting his likability as an artist. In a December show at Jammin Java in Vienna, Va. the traveling songster kept the audience swaying to his slow, melodies while sharing stories about his embarrassingly large front teeth as a child and his loves lost, scorned and cherished. Ruben has released two full-length albums on his own, “Aiming for Honesty” and “The Ones That Matter,” which are both available on iTunes.
Julia Sheer
Golden, Colo., artist Julia Sheer has found her niche in her ability to bring her own set of emotions to each and every song she sings — from Katy Perry covers to original tracks from her two-man band Caroline County. The songstress proves herself with just one note, perfecting a sound somewhere between acoustic pop and country — with just the right amount of sweet Southern appeal. Sheer’s personal website, juliasheer.com, features a 2010 acoustic cover of Taylor Swift’s “Sparks Fly” while her YouTube channel (JuliaSheer) impresses with more recent renditions of Katy Perry’s “The One That Got Away” and The Band Perry’s “If I Die Young.” Sheer is now singing alongside singer/songwriter Matthew McGinn as the second half of Caroline County, adding a certain spunk and polish to original songs like “Heaven in the Middle of Nowhere.”
Carter Hulsey
He’s the essence of cool with his crazy, disheveled hair, plaid button-ups and occasional Ray-Bans. Joplin, Mo., acoustic folk singer/songwriter Carter Hulsey has struck a balance between emotional and sensitive guitar-toting crooner and rebel without a cause. His first album — 2010’s “A Note In Your Pocket” — released on fellow Joplin artist Christofer Ingle’s (of NeverShoutNever!) label Loveaway Records. It features slow-moving love single “Black & Blue” along with the more fun and character-telling “Good Time.” Hulsey’s Carter Hulsey Band independently released “What You Carry” in May, featuring single “Black My Lungs,” that transforms the solo artist’s sound to a rock-infused folk.
Jenny Owen Youngs
She’s too cool for school — her long brown locks and acoustic guitar hark back to singers/songwriters of the ‘60s and ‘70s. There’s a quality, a rasp and register, which adds authenticity to her effortless sound. And her quirk, reflected most notably through her full character and costume-filled cover and music video of Nelly’s “Hot in Herre,” makes Youngs hard not to love. Youngs released 2009’s “Transmitter Failure” with Canada’s Nettwerk Music Group, and has completed a successful Kickstarter campaign for her upcoming full-length “An Unwavering Band of Light.” The New Jersey rocker reigns in just the right dose of eccentricity, pumping up the first single off the new album, “Pirates,” with up-tempo percussion and heavy guitar. “An Unwavering Band of Light” drops Feb. 7 and the first single can be streamed on Purevolume.