Concertwire.com

David Wilcox’s songs travel. Like a drive across America in an Airstream trailer; they offer up fascinating new places and ideas, along with time to drink in their meaning. That's no coincidence, by the way: the highly regarded singer-songwriter recently returned from two years of traveling with his wife and son in an Airstream trailer. “There are people that expect a lot from music,” he said. “It's like a conversation with a friend where you get reminded of you who are; it wakes up what's best in your heart.” A native of Ohio, Wilcox has based his career out of the South since the 1980s, when he emerged as a live performer in North Carolina and won the music industry's attention in Nashville. After getting a taste of the major-label ride on A&M for three releases, he then recorded for other labels like Vanguard, and now he's releasing Airstream, his fourth CD on the Colorado-based independent, What Are Records? There's more than ever to sing about for Wilcox these days. “I think this music could serve a lot of people”, he said, “But over the years I've made my peace that my job is the depth of experience, not how far it spreads.” Wilcox's gift allows him to make compelling music out of experiences as common as a parent's mixed joy and alarm about a teenager's first driver's license. In 'This Old Car' that passage becomes a parable of independence being born. Overall, listeners with a taste for high musical quality and songs of nuanced expression will find much to celebrate while traveling along with Wilcox's Airstream. As Wilcox's career has evolved, in appearances everywhere from seminaries to theaters, and biker bars to yoga centers, he's found an audience ready to receive his particular brand of road wisdom. “I have always chosen to play in settings where, at the end of the night, I am more hopeful about what music can do for the heart than I was at the beginning”, he said.