It was a picture-perfect scene at Abilene Bar and Lounge Sunday night: five or six chairs inched up close to the performers in a circle, with some eerie candlelight, a packed house, and some gritty, straight-up folk coming from the stage. Real folk is played less like a song and more like a story, and singer Danny Schmidt stole the night with a series of compelling narratives sung straight from his chest.

The evening began with opener Greg Cunningham, a local singer with a gentle, Michael Stipe type of calm to his voice. The singer's set started with a gentle acoustic vibe and random bursts of harmonica. Cunningham, a witty and down-to-earth type, kindly told the audience to "drink lots, I sound much better when you're drunk."
Cunningham's best tune of the night came second in the set: Neil Young's "Harvest Moon." The audience felt the vibe and sang along. Cunningham widened the range of his set with a ballad halfway through. The ease of his voice matched the intimate lyrics -- it was a subtle and well devised performance.

When I think of genuine folk, I think of a guy like Danny Schmidt. He brings his soul to the stage with him, and he seems to leave it there when he goes. He spends most of his set eyes closed, knees swaying, with his thoughts visibly off somewhere else. His style weaves in and out of a bluegrass/folk with a subtle dash of country twang. His poetry hits you first and his music hits you last, almost as an afterthought. His songs talk to you with elegance, narrowing in on the things we do not take time out to feel.

A majority of the songs carried several verses, each extensive but ending abruptly, with a repetitious, soft melody. The tunes came more like monologues, setting a scene and taking a comprehensive approach, nearly exhausting you if you let your mind travel along. His voice was fittingly simple to match the complexity of the lyrics and instrumentation. A few of the audience members seemed caught and embedded in the big picture of his work. Schmidt managed to engage and silence the entire crowd by the close of his set.