Jonathan Edwards

Tonight, y’all. Lots going down. Too much to fit into one post.

First, a heads up about Jonathan Edwards. I wrote a thing for Richmond Navigator about how the writer of “Sunshine (Go Away Today)” and other hits will be stopping at the Tin Pan tonight. Click here to read it — it’s half preview and half review of his new album, Tomorrow’s Child. I really like Tomorrow’s Child, and one thing I’ll mention here that I didn’t sufficiently explore in that piece is how gracefully honest the lyrics are.

It’s hard to get to know people in real life. If you’re lucky, you’ll develop close friendships over the years, and the more you trust someone, the more you’ll reveal about yourself and vice versa. There’s an official term for this I learned as a Rhetoric and Communications minor in college that involves the word “penetration,” but I can never remember it exactly, nor could I dream of saying it out loud with a straight face. Nomenclature aside, part of that idea is that revealing too much too soon can damage a relationship in its early stages. Most people outside of the academic realm would simply call that oversharing.

THEN AGAIN… every once in a while you meet someone who inspires a sense of trust and intimacy right away. Not so much “Who cares, I’ll just come out and tell you what I really think” but “This situation feels special, and I’m going to honor that feeling, even if it’s risky.” That’s the impression Tomorrow’s Child leaves me with, especially after hearing the wrenching closing track. There’s a lot of pain in “Jonny’s Come Home,” but Edwards’ voice doesn’t slash at your heartstrings — it calmly asks you to empathize, and saying yes feels good.

I hope you’ll say yes to the prospect of seeing him at the Tin Pan. As I mention in the article, the venue and artist couldn’t be more perfectly matched.

Jonathan Edwards — “This Old Guitar” [Spotify/iTunes]