Ignored             Obscured              Restored

There is so much great music in this world that trying to keep up with it can feel overwhelming.

I’m a volunteer usher at The Guild Theatre in Menlo Park, California — a position that allows me to see live music once or twice a week.  I often arrive having never heard of the artist on the bill.  Yet time after time, when I listen to their recordings or catch the set from the back of the hall, I’m struck by just how talented these musicians are.

I also read hundreds of reviews of new releases, most faithfully in MOJO.  Through the magic of Spotify, I can immediately sample the albums that catch my eye.  Still, the sheer volume of new music is staggering.  The field is so vast that separating quality from quantity can feel like a full-time job.

Take, for instance, Can’t Take My Story Away, the latest album by Elles Bailey. It’s a terrific collection of contemporary, country-tinged R&B.  To my ear, Bailey sounds like a compelling hybrid of Mavis Staples and Bonnie Raitt – with earthy, smoky vocals.  What really astonishes me, though, is that I’m only discovering her now, with the release of her sixth studio album (in addition to two live records).  How did it take me this long?

There are many strong tracks here, but “Better Days” stands out.

The song began as a composition by Matt Long, singer, songwriter, and guitarist for the band Catfish, who died last October after a battle with cancer.  Long’s parents shared the song with Bailey, who reshaped it into its current form.  She has said, “I felt like I wanted to bring a piece of him onstage with me, and it’s a beautiful song with a simple message that I think we need to hear.”

In a world awash with new releases, the challenge is not whether great music exists — it clearly does — but whether we can keep ourselves open to finding it.  Keep up the good fight.  If you do, you’ll be rewarded with discoveries like Elles Bailey: artists who were there all along, just waiting to be heard.

Enjoy… until next week.