Born in Akron, Ohio, Davis spent his childhood listening to records from his father’s massive collection of rock, soul, and folk. These early influences emerged when he taught himself to play the guitar, and stuck when he began writing his own music in 2003. Davis’s songs blend the populist traditions of Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie with the contemporary acoustic soul of Elliott Smith and Jack Johnson. It is music boiled down to an organic essence, one based on revelations and shared experience, not showboating.

In August of 2004, Davis moved to California from Columbus, Ohio. After waiting tables in Los Angeles for a few months, he moved to San Francisco and released his first album, From Ohio. A record of heartfelt coming-of-age themes, Davis’s debut hearkened back to the Midwest experience while embracing the coastal culture of California.

The Heartland , released in 2006, was the second helping of original songs bridging his Ohio roots and a newfound, sunrise-over-Golden-Gate vibe. Within a year of The Heartland’s release, Davis went from being a regular on the open mic circuit to booking shows at famed San Francisco venues, including Café Du Nord, Hotel Utah, and the Red Devil Lounge.

With countless friendships, joys, and struggles giving him inspiration, Davis stayed a prolific singer-songwriter during his time in California. In January 2007, he released his third and most recent album, Land of Stranded Dreams, which was written completely in San Francisco. The record keeps the pleasant intimacy of his first two albums, but also shows the maturity of a dreamer who’s wised up to ways of the world. Full of nimble guitar riffs and wistful lyrics, it marks a compromise between wide-eyed fairy tales and the darker realism of the so-called Golden State.

“I was reading Grapes of Wrath while concepting this album,” Davis says, “and was fascinated by all the characters who thought California was peach trees and plenty of work. The album’s about chasing these dreams—and then feeling stranded when they’re not all they’re cracked up to be.”

Shortly after releasing his third album, Davis left California for Minneapolis, where he lived for most of 2007. In early 2008, he moved back to San Francisco and is currently working on a new album. Davis' wide range of experiences and influences keep his style fresh and steadily evolving, from catchy folk to literate acoustic rock. You’ll feel right at home listening to his smoky, soulful voice—and you don’t have to be from Ohio to appreciate it.