David Rynhart

Just from looking at the liner notes of David Rynhart's By the Hollow Tree, which quote Henry Miller, Paul Gaugin and Vincent Van Gogh, it's evident the guy has some depth. But Rynhart's not just name-dropping. In fact, "A Puddle on the Ground," one of the album's many high points, with its piano-propelled, swift-waltz feel, is taken from a musical that the singer-songwriter is writing about the last nine weeks of Van Gogh's life. Musically on Tree, Rynhart draws from a vast and diverse pool of influences, including hints of classical and Eastern European as well as blues and folk. While at times dark and melancholic and at others filled with hope, Rynhart's first official studio release shows off his incredibly sharp songwriting and storytelling skills.