This acclaimed Asheville (NC)-based singer-songwriter is a Cleveland native with a laid-back singing style whose songs, alternately yearning and plaintive, are known for their emotional force and intimacy, for their canny blend of pop and folk aesthetics, and for an occasional deeply philosophical bent. He’s also a dynamic guitarist who favors offbeat tunings. Stephen Holden of the New York Times writes that he “sings with a mellow fluency that suggests a hybrid of [James] Taylor and Kenny Rankin, but he has better enunciation than either.” $33.