It is a true, and nowadays rare, musician who writes lyrics so vulnerable and authentic that an audience is irrevocably captured by the powerful experience of sharing the journey. An album that is essentially an autobiographical account of personal mistakes, change, and growth, offers listeners a chance to reflect on their own experiences and connect with another’s story. With Griffin House’s newest album, So On and So Forth, it is clear that this artist digs deep and offers up his narrative after much reflection.

House is a young family man and artist who is choosing sobriety and celebrating the path to his success, through songs which share his perspective on how people remember the past with rose-colored glasses, how we grow up and realize what we deeply need, and how we must find happiness in ourselves in the present.

One song on this album is particularly poignant. “Paris Calling” is about living in Nashville and dreaming of returning for a visit to France. “For me, Paris will always be a place that can be described by three words; magical, surreal, and enchanting. My heart is in love there — in love with life itself. I celebrated the completion of my album with a return this summer to my favorite city on Earth,” says House. He was very saddened after the terrorist attack there and decided to release this special song to the public months before the album release and donated all sales to a non-profit organization that aims to fight against poverty and exclusion in France and throughout the world.

Recording and performing for over a decade, House has toured with Ron Sexsmith, Patti Scialfa, Josh Ritter, John Mellencamp, Mat Kearney, and The Cranberries. He received early critical acclaim on the CBS Sunday Morning, and his songs have since been featured in countless films and television shows such as One Tree Hill, Army Wives, and Brothers and Sisters. He has also appeared on Late Night with Craig Ferguson.

Photo: McConville Studio

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Korby Lenker hatched a plan for his seventh album, after raising $20,000 from a crowd-funding campaign. He purchased some recording gear and a high-end battery typically used in climbing expeditions, and drove out to Idaho to see what would happen. He recorded the heart of each song — the guitar and vocal — in different places important to him personally. After recording the basic tracks for Thousand Springs, he spent the next several months driving around the country, recording his friends where they lived — in Seatlle, Portland, LA, Austin, Madison, Boston, and more. In addition to living the life of a traveling songwriter, Korby has recently published his first collection of short stories, Medium Hero.