Sure, it’s getting harder to be a patriot every day (Hi Stephen Colbert! we love you!). But that’s not stopping you from daydreaming about Fourth of July a week early. Roman candles playfully shot at tipsy friends, charred processed meat, gas money spent on impossibly cheap miniature American flags manufactured in other countries. Ah, independence. It’s a good time to think about it. It’s in an independent spirit that we turned to Chris Kasper, award-winning songwriter based in Manayunk, for this week’s mix tape. Chris is gearing up to celebrate the release of his second indie album with a show at World Café on Tuesday, June 27. After letting the songs brew for a few years, Chris took a rare offer to record the album on the cheap in a basement studio in Durham, NC. The result is a record with a signature dreamy acoustic style laced with words worth listening to. You may have caught the single Bit Older on WXPN already. It’s one of those songs that bounces around in your brain after the first listen, a perfectly catchy June tune. In a there-was-some-love-sparkling-in-the-air-and-maybe-it-didn’t-work-out, but-don’t-think-twice, it’s all right kind of way. Chris balances out his solo stuff by moonlighting with The Lowlands, a local bluegrass-folk ensemble where he gets to flash the bluegrass chops he picked up from living in West Virginia before landing here in the heart of brotherly love. The show, according to Chris, is going to be his own little circus featuring a host of friends and cohorts helping him celebrate. Then he’s off to tour with the Highway Girls and carry the celebration into NYC and Boston. So without further ado, ignore Lee Greenwood on the radio, and pop in Pre-game: Chris Kasper’s Favorite Songs by Independent Artists, and get ready for the fireworks.
Chris Kasper had the heart to help us out with a mixed tape this week. Check him out a World Cafe Live on June 27.
from the archives: mix tape column: chris kasper
Making a mix
Pre-game: Chris Kasper’s favorite songs by indie artists
