From time to time I like to flip the country music menu over and find an entree from another musical genre to enjoy. As much as I love good ol’ southern barbecue, I don’t want to eat it every day.

I find the same to be true with the tunes I listen to. As much as I love country music, occasionally I like to get out of my comfort zone and listen to something different. So, I thought I would introduce Amos Lee to those of you who don’t know the name.

Once you hear this great singer/songwriter, you won’t forget him. To be honest, some of Lee’s music isn’t all that different from some of the more progressive, mellow styles of country music gracing the airwaves these days.

His music has been labeled as folk and soul, and he has toured with the likes of such greats as Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Merle Haggard, the Zac Brown Band and John Prine, to name a few. In fact, it was the Great Days album by Prine that helped ignite the musical fire in Lee while he attended college at the University of South Carolina.

Since Lee began his professional career in 2004, he has recorded five albums with his latest, My New Moon, released a few weeks ago. A lot of his music is of an acoustic variety; more in the folk realm, but he has a soulful side, with songs that connect with the real world in a way that sets him aside from similar artists.

To say his music has a realness to it sounds cliché, but it is easy for me to see the picture he is painting when he sings. If I had to compare him to someone, I would have to say I can’t. He is Amos Lee and there is no one else like him, in my humble opinion.

He is one of those artists you can listen to for hours and hours and never tire of it. In my day we would call him “cool.” I’m not sure if that is the term the younger generation uses anymore, but it fits for me.

He is the kind of artist I would like to sound like when I sing, and he’s the kind of writer I would like to be when I write. Not sure I can pay him a better compliment.

Cool.

Bluegrass Johnson comes from a long line of country music performers and enjoys a passion for the rhythm and melody. From the hills of Kentucky, he will offer his opinions on a variety of country music. Readers with questions or comments may write to Johnson in care of this publication.