Stephen Ashbrook

West Coast singer/songwriter Stephen Ashbrook had access to only two records growing up (Simon & Garfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water and Jesus Christ Superstar), both of which were enticing enough to send the California native on a hunt to his local library to expand his musical horizons. Citing heroes as diverse as John Steinbeck, the Rolling Stones, and Winston Churchill, Ashbrook honed his chops amidst the fertile late-'90s Tempe, Arizona alt-rock scene, where he took home The Phoenix Tribune's Best Acoustic Performer title in both 1998 and 2000; he even got to play for President William Jefferson Clinton, at the request of the White House. Known for his rich baritone, smooth falsetto, and penchant for open-road heartland folk-rock in the vein of Tom Petty, the Wallflowers, and Joe Henry, he released an EP, About Last Night, in 1993, followed by a full-length eponymous studio album with his band Satellite in 1995. His solo debut, the critically acclaimed Navigator, arrived in 1998, with Drive and American B-Sides, the latter of which featured members of the Gin Blossoms, the Pistoleros, and Dead Hot Workshop, arriving in 2001 and 2002, respectively. Ashbrook relocated to Portland, Oregon after the arrival of the latter, releasing his first live collection, Double Live @ Long Wong's, in 2004, and White Balloons, his sixth studio album, in 2008.