The first thing you notice is the voice. The resonant baritone, vibrant with the timbre of seasoned oak, prompts the urgent question: “Who is that?”. He sounds familiar, but you can’t quite place it, as he croons like Sinatra one moment, yodels like Haggard in another, growls like Lovett on the turnaround, and sticks the landing in James Taylor territory. And that’s just in the first chorus.
The fingerpicking on the classical guitar arrests your attention next. Axon’s signature style, blending ringing open strings with tasty arpeggiated figures up and down the neck, supports the vocal. While the changes fit comfortably within the familiar singer-songwriter bag, you detect stealth inflections of traditional country, bluegrass and gospel. Jazz and blues figures light up the roots repertoire, blending genres from a half century of performing.

Finally, the stylish and literary lyrics intrigue your imagination while he regales the audience with good time crowd pleasers.

Before you’ve even had the chance to fully appreciate the cinematic imagery and emotional payload of these narratives, he closes out the set and you find yourself wishing there was more.

As always, shows are all ages and free for everyone.