If you’ve been around the Chicago music scene over the last few years, it’s likely that you’ve seen Al Scorch. While the city can be a mishmash of punk bands, free jazz, hip hop MCs, and everything in between, Scorch finds a way to traverse genres and get the crowd’s feet stomping in unison, no matter the venue or demographic breakdown.

We’ve seen him in varying scenarios both in and outside our collective hometown, always bringing audiences into his corner before his blistering sets are through. He has crushed crowds with his mutating Country Soul Ensemble, opening for acts like Screaming Females and Saintseneca. He’s had listeners hanging on every word during solo performances, while sharing the stage with heavy-hitting songwriters a la Chuck Ragan (Hot Water Music) and Jim Adkins (Jimmy Eat World). He can hold his own on bills with progressive wizards like Danny Barnes and Peter Rowan, too. And he’s even encouraged local voters to get to the polls in the hilariously rapped “The City Hall Shuffle” video.

Scorch’s music and lyrics straddle the line between bone-chilling, literary testimonials and boisterous, revival tent revelry. There are elements of bluegrass and country throughout, at times evinced by his breakneck clawhammer banjo technique and poignant acoustic guitar takes. Balancing wedges of punk, old-time string band, American and European folk, and soulful balladry, Scorch is an entertainer, DIY road warrior, storyteller, and one hell of a musician.