What good is a song if it doesn’t make you feel something? Jeremy Ferrara knows this, and refuses to waste a minute of your time. His good nature and innate tenderness is inescapable, and anyone within earshot of his quavering voice and quiet guitar is likely to swoon in sympathetic reaction. He’s a folksinger, and a song-diviner. His music is as fun as it is finely detailed. His latest album Everything I Hold is exemplary of this style. Produced by Mike Coykendall, the LP features just Jeremy, his guitar, and voice, on eight songs that fill the listener with wonder, empathy, and joy. Though he’s been playing in bands and experimenting with his talent since the credulous age of 11 years old, it wasn’t until Ferrara went away to college that he was able to fully realize his love of musicianship. While studying physics at UC Santa Barbara, Ferrara frequented thriving DIY music spaces like Biko Garage. These were more than just spaces for Ferrara though. It was in these intimate settings that Ferrara would forge his identity as a musician and find his love for touring. A love that has carried him through 4+ years of multiple tours throughout the US and Europe. While drawing inspiration from greats like Joni Mitchell, Conor Oberst, Adrianne Lenker, and Neil Young, Ferrara is still able to achieve his own distinct sound. His endearingly forthright lyrics are driven by modern indie hooks paired with timeless, tender, folky sounds. Open tunings and fingerpicking are sprinkled throughout Ferrara’s works, giving them a classic and comforting sort of twang. His debut album, With Every Change (2020), calls on the techniques of his folk predecessors and was first tracked on the stage of a 100-year-old theatre over 3 and a half days in the tiny mountain town of Enterprise, Oregon; before full band features like keyboard and pedal steel were later overdubbed. At the heart of Ferrara’s work, you will find… well, Ferrara’s own heart. His open-hearted songwriting lays all to bare and takes no shame in doing so.