Son Henry

I’ve spent a long time chasing songs across places I’ve called home – The Carolinas, Texas, Alaska, Scotland, Texas again, and now back in my hometown of Rochester, NY. Along the way I’ve been lucky enough to win a couple of awards for my lap-steel playing and tour internationally, but the heart of what I do has always been simple: I try to catch real human moments in a song. A quiet heartbreak. A small mercy. A flash of hope. A stab of regret. Those little snapshots of what it feels like to be alive.

These days, I’m leaning into the folky, narrative side of my song writing. I love intimate listening rooms where every word and every note has room to breathe. I’m still playing with my Americana band, The Son Henry Band. They’re a wonderful group of musicians, dear friends, and sometimes you just need to wail on the guitar and shout it out – I’ll never give that up!  But these days I’m also spending a lot of time performing solo and with my duo partner, Elaine Verstraete, in our project The Front Porch Project.

I’m also deeply committed to community music. I host a monthly Son House Blues Night and a weekly jam, and I spend a lot of time mentoring younger players. Music gave me a place to belong; helping others find that place matters to me.