Gregory Alan Isakov

One Liner: Perfect folky beauty

Wikipedia Genre: contemporary folk, indie folk, country folk
Home: Boulder, CO

Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 8
Day: Sunday
Weekend Two Only.

Thoughts:  I was so pleased to see this guy on the poster.  Many years ago, when I was using Pandora quite a bit for my musical listening time, I had created a station I called Proper.  I also had similar themed offerings like Gangsta, Fury, Camaro, and Good Country (not sure how I couldn't figure a better name for that last one).  Anyway, at some point, this guy's song "The Stable Song" started popping up in my Proper playlist all the time.  And it is freaking beautiful.  137.2 million streams.

Like a perfect combination of Ryan Adams, Jose Gonzalez, Billy Bragg & Wilco, and the two chill Beck albums, all rolled into one lovely little banjo-fueled nugget.  And that isn't even his most popular tune!  Also, damn rude of them to make him Weekend Two only.  Hurtful, even.

Interestingly, he is originally from Johannesburg, South Africa.  His family immigrated to the Philadelphia area when he was around 7.  He began touring with a band at 16, and later moved to Boulder for college (although something called Naropa University, not CU Boulder).  He kept at the music thing, self-releasing a few albums before being named Best Male Songwriter by Colorado magazine Westword.  He was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Folk Album in 2019, and his most streamed tune was used in a McDonald's commercial, of all things.  "Big Black Car," from 2009's This Empty Northern Hemisphere, with 330.5 million streams.

Fascinating.  Why in the world would McD's choose that chill ditty to sell their slop.  Well, I found it, and I guess it actually kinda works.

First apartment!  Christmas!  Candlelit dinner of dry and cold Big Macs that you apparently left out while you made a jenky shape on the wall in white lights!  But yeah, actually kind of cute and it works with the song.

He has a handful of singles with like-minded fellas.  Nathaniel Rateliff.  Noah Kahan.  Shovels & Rope.  The Rateliff tune is excellent.  HIs second-biggest streamer is off of 2013's Weatherman - "Amsterdam" has 193.5 million streams.

His voice sounds like magic.  Is that some sort of an effect he is putting on there, or is he just layering his own voice to make harmonies?  I don't know, but I like it.  Like all of this actually - I've pretty much just let it play for four days over the last weekend to keep enjoying these songs.  It's nothing revolutionary or out-of-the-ordinary, but if you are looking for beauty in folky goodness, this is the place.