Sometimes the only way is jumping

I first heard Gavin Degraw several years ago in his very first television appearance, on Last Call with Carson Daly. (I think he and Carson were friends from way back, if I remember correctly, which is how he landed the gig.) I was immediately impressed by his bluesy piano-heavy style, but he didn't even have an album out yet, so I went out and downloaded a bunch of his live stuff.

Of those live songs, one of my absolute favorites was "Dancing Shoes," which has finally made it onto one of his albums - the recently released Free.

Here he is performing a beautifully sleepy version of that song on Regis and Kelly:



I'm also digging his self-titled 2008 album, which is much poppier and heavily produced, in a good way - it's pure ear candy. (This is the album that spawned the radio hit "In Love with a Girl," though I think there are several songs on the album that are even better top-40 radio hit material, such as "Next to Me," "Cop Stop," and "Untamed.")

Degraw's music is such a likeable mix of blue-eyed soul, blues and piano singer-songwriter, it's hard not to love.

As evidence, here's a live version of "Meaning," my favorite song from his first album:

Corinne Bailey Rae lets her hair down

I first heard Corinne Bailey Rae on Louisville's awesome independent radio station WFPK last year in advance of her her album release. From the moment I heard "Put Your Records On," I knew she was destined for stardom. (Seriously, ask Gil. I made him sit in the van until the song ended because I was so blown away.)

Well,now that the rest of the world has discovered the same genius I heard a year ago in Kentucky, Bailey Rae has a live DVD coming out April 3.

This is particularly good news since, if it's possible, I love Bailey Rae's music even more in its stripped-down, acoustic format - it places more emphasis on her astonishingly lovely voice.

To tide you over until April 3, watch this live performance (posted on YouTube) from Scotland's "T in the Park" festival.