His most stirring strengths -- his voice and songwriting sensibility -- are wholly his own. In the end, there’s something intangible and appealing about Whitmore's music.
Perhaps it is the measured yet vibrant rhythms of Iowa farm life so critical to his oeuvre. The songwriter wields his indelible voice in pleasantly dark and twisty tales which somehow manage to remain paradoxically uplifting. Even moments of despair and disquiet are strangely comforting. Sin and redemption are offered up in equal measure as well as preoccupations with the toils and pleasure of everyday living. His spare arrangements smartly let Whitmore’s voice do most of the heavy lifting with banjo or guitar serving as complements.
Whitmore visited St. Louis while on tour in support of his latest album, "Field Songs." He appears at Off Broadway on July 28.
