By: Caroline Murray

Leon Bridges, will you be my friend? Maybe we can share a soda at the local Five-and-Dime, and later catch a flick at the drive-in? May I wear your pin, as you carry my books home from school? Perhaps, you will serenade me with your smooth and soulful voice as I fall to sleep—dreaming of …

Excuse me. I was bitten by the love-bug.  Sorry,  Ed Sheeran, but you aren’t the one catching my attention. No. It is the 25-year-old Texas native, dance major turned musical genius, Leon Bridges.

This singer-songwriter and guitarist is refreshing.  It might sound odd given that critics compare him to R&B legends such as Sam Cooke and Otis Redding, but Bridges’ songs like “Coming Home” and “Better Man,” are unlike any songs on pop radio stations today. That is what makes him so darn good. He is bringing light to what many people are missing in their lives: good, honest music. There isn’t any clutter or unwanted electronic beats bisecting his songs. The melodies are simple; his voice is a soulful and sweet.

Coming Home is the first of, hopefully, many albums to come.  The blossoming star played this year’s  SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, where I’d imagine he surprised audience members with his ambient sound, while transcending them back to a time of classically great music.

http://www.leonbridges.com/