Ryan Bingham

Ryan Bingham grew up in Lubbock, Texas, where he heard a lot of country music around the house. He put out his first album in 2007, and another one called 'Mescalito' a couple years later. The songs from that time, like 'Southside Of Heaven,' had a raw, stripped-down feel that caught people's attention.

A song called 'The Poet' came out in 2010 and became his best-known track. It's a quiet, introspective piece that seemed to connect with listeners who appreciated that kind of direct storytelling. He also wrote 'The Weary Kind,' which won an Academy Award for its use in the film 'Crazy Heart.'

His music doesn't really fit neatly into one genre. There's country in there, and folk, and a kind of road-worn rock feel. He kept making records, and songs like 'Sunrise' and 'Hallelujah' have that same straightforward, unvarnished quality that he started with.