Josh Rouse in Concert at Theater 5150

With Brill Building wit and a Midwestern sense of melancholy, Josh Rouse has built an almost 30-year career as a singer-songwriter turning out well-crafted and hook-laden folk-pop, alt-country, and Americana gems. Rolling Stone Magazine has described his music as displaying “a sharp wit, slightly obscured by the moody earnestness of folk and new wave, but with a better groove and bouncier beats.” It proclaimed his “Nashville” album “a landmark album that mixed the rootsy stomp of Music City with string arrangements, brass and other orchestral flourishes.” You don’t have to work hard to enjoy his music. His songs present themselves to you with an open heart, an innate intelligence and an absolute lack of pretension. They are clear-eyed, empathetic and penetrating. Without pandering, they seek to satisfy both your ear and your understanding. He has performed worldwide and his music has been featured often in television and movies (“Eat Pray Love,” “Dawson’s Creek,” “Roswell,” “Ed,” “Brothers and Sisters,” to name just a few). He has a brand new album, “Museums and Women,” that’ll be released to coincide with his West Coast tour, which starts in early October and ends with our show at the end of November.