Jaden Carlson

Not yet in her teens, Boulder-based singer-songwriter Jaden Carlson already has three albums under her belt. Even more impressive, the gal started playing guitar at age six; since then, she's developed some fine picking and songwriting chops and has shared the stage with major acts such as Michael Franti and Trevor Hall. With each disc, Carlson seems to grow considerably, and Born to Fly is a testament to that, serving as the audio equivalent of a mark on the wall charting changes in height. But the album is a far cry from greasy kids' stuff: Carlson is already writing material on par with that of songwriters three or four times her age.