There are some voices that are indisputably created for making music, and Lake Worth singer/songwriter Kevin Popejoy's rich timbre is one such instrument.
The Glimpses of the South Florida Scene vet writes and records evocative acoustic songs that explore the darkness of humanity and wraps them around a core of uplifting beauty. And if that weren't enough, he can deliver them with confidence in a live setting.
Evidence aplenty can be found on Popejoy's Live at Kevro's EP, released last week via Bandcamp.
With tiny noises from the crowd surrounding him, the warmth of the five tracks is the perfect accompaniment for the fall, which is reportedly in full swing in most parts of the country far to the north.
"This song I'm gonna sing kinda loud; just turn it down," you can hear him say to Mark Stephenson -- who recorded, mixed, and mastered the collection -- before he begins "Holes in Your Heart." And it's hard not to want to turn it up, just to fully immerse in Popejoy's melancholy. "You whispered my name and told me all the bad things I've done," he sings over his expert picking. It's hard not to imagine a secret train that singers like Popejoy, Cass McCombs, and Will Oldham stow away on to find their stories and to tell them so hauntingly.
Enjoying this as much as we are? Popejoy joins one of County Grind's other favorite local folk stars, Sophie Sputnik, at Dada this evening.
Kevin Popejoy. With Sophie Sputnik. 10 p.m. Monday, October 24, at Dada, 52 N. Swinton Ave., Delray Beach. No cover. Click here.
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