Jackie Greene

There will probably always be an audience for organically grown folkies who remember those nutritious old days when soft-rock had a bit of country and blues in it, and Jackie Greene is more proof. A child of Central California (born in Salinas, attended high school in El Dorado Hills, started performing in Sacramento), the singer-songwriter released his debut, Gone Wanderin', with local DIG Music in 2002 and won a California Music Award for it. A follow-up came out on DIG in 2003, then an album that jumped from DIG to major-distributed Verve. Then another for Verve (which also included a Greene song on 2005's Brokeback Mountain soundtrack), then two on major-distributed 429. By the time he released 2008's Giving Up the Ghost, he was charting as a Top 10 Heatseeker in Billboard. Supporters say his music got more complex, then slightly more pop; The Band and Dire Straits and Bob Dylan get mentioned. Greene has worked with Steve Berlin of Los Lobos; toured with everybody from Buddy Guy to Huey Lewis, not to mention a couple Grateful Dead side projects, one of which (Phil Lesh and Friends) he joined. He has helped out Gov't Mule as well.