What is native Iowa folk music? Iowa's a crossing point for many musical traditions: the country tradition of the American southeast, which originates in the Celtic tradition of the British Isles; Texas swing; Western cowboy songs; Southern blues; and to some extent jazz, Cajun, and Northeastern seafaring tunes.

My music picks up a lot of these influences—old blues and jazz, contemporary folk, old-time country music, bluegrass, church singing. I spend about half my time writing and recording new work, with a focus on originality, and the rest delving deeply into the various musical traditions that make Iowa such a great and diverse place to live and work.