Jason Tyler Burton – Headwaters

The hills are alive with the sound of storytellers, and few are better right now than Jason Tyler Burton. Burton left his home of Kentucky a while ago to explore the American West and hasn’t looked back. Like all storytellers, he searches for the core of man’s existence, the reason for living, and has come out of it with a string of tunes crafted from nights under stars and the wonder of life. I know because when I listen to his music, I see the stars and wonder about life, too.

Not too many singer/songwriters have impressed me recently as much as Burton, the words and music weaving a spell of a time past or an emotion felt. He reminds me a bit of AJ Roach, Jeff Talmadge and Jeff Finlin in the way he forms his approach; of Danny Schmidt, Tom Mank and Talmadge in execution. The twelve excellent songs range from smooth country-based folk to light acoustic wanderings.

Of the twelve, I am most drawn to “Destination,” a tune which would have fit on any one of Jeff Talmadge’s fine albums. It is what I call a ghost song, created in a vacuum and surrounded by fog. Every time I hear it, it creates a different image, but mostly it reminds me of the waterfront…dark, moody, a world in itself. Not an actual waterfront, mind you, but an inner waterfront full of emotions visited in the most personal of times. Not that the other eleven are not plenty good. They just are as good in different ways.

Burton is on a journey, part music and part life. Here is the video he put together for his fundraiser for the album which became Headwaters. But don’t worry, the fundraiser is over and all that remains is for you to purchase it. This video tells you why that is a good idea. I like this guy. More importantly, I like his music.