Also this issue: Fairies Wear Boots Who will fight Philly’s most huggable band? -Patrick Rapa A Mighty Wind Le Vent du Nord explores the regional color of the Great White North. -Mary Armstrong Joey Sweeney of The Trouble With Sweeney -Interview by Patrick Rapa Karl Hendricks Trio -Paul Burress Calla -Andrew Parks Roy Hargrove's RH Factor -Kyle Parker Josh Wink -Sean O’Neal Gillian Welch -Sam Adams

June 19-25, 2003

musicpicks

Jesse Harris

You may not have heard of him, but you've heard him. Jesse Harris penned a bunch of the songs on Norah Jones' multiplatinum Blue Note debut, including the ubiquitous Grammy-winning ditty "Don't Know Why." Now he's out with his own high-profile record, The Secret Sun, on Verve's Blue Thumb imprint. Fans of Norah may be surprised to hear Harris' nasal rasp, which sets him aside as more of a Bob Dylan than a Josh White. But that's his charm. He's a no-nonsense songwriter with country, blues and folk influences and an endearing sincerity that belies his media savvy. (His mom played Dr. Susan Stewart in As The World Turns.) And his band, The Ferdinandos, features half of Sex Mob (drummer Kenny Wollesen and guitarist/bassist Tony Scherr), which makes a certain kind of sense. Like that crazy downtown outfit, Harris and company know how to make prickly tunes go down smooth.

Mon., June 23, 8:30 p.m., $10, with David Berkeley, Tin Angel, 20 S. Second St., 215-928-0770.

—Kyle Parker