Best of What's Next 2009: Gregory Alan Isakov [Musician]

Hometown: Boulder, Colo.
Album: This Empty Northern Hemisphere
For Fans Of: Josh Ritter, Ray LaMontagne, Townes Van Zandt

Born in South Africa and raised in Philadelphia, Gregory Alan Isakov makes quietly lush, deeply vibrant music more rooted in the starry night sky—like the one on the cover of his latest LP—than any terrestrial locale. Brandi Carlile picks and croons on five of the album’s tracks and took Isakov on the road with her for a spring tour. If he takes a cue from her slow, steady, solid playbook, he’ll do well for himself.

What’s Next? “This August, I’ll actually be taking a month off to spend at my brother’s place in Taos, N.M.,” Isakov says. “It’s an earthship, an off-the-grid structure, and I think I’ll do a little EP just on solar power.” He’ll hit the road again in the fall, beginning with his second appearance at Red Rocks’ Monolith Festival in September. “This time we’ll have a set on the main stage,” he says. “I have been dreaming of playing there for a long time.”

Listen to Gregory Alan Isakov's "The Moon Song" on the PasteStation.

< Previous: Jani Kahrama [Game Developer] || Next: Frightened Rabbit [Musicians] >