Ben Harper

Though he’s often lumped in with the Jack Johnson and the just-chilling-with-shoes-off set, there’s a spark that smolders in the heart of Ben Harper’s incense-friendly soul-rock. Like his influences—artists as diverse as Bob Marley, Jimi Hendrix, Sam Cooke, and Lynyrd Skynyrd—there’s nothing half-hearted about Harper’s mellow performances. And when he turns up the heat in songs as pointed as “Please Don’t Talk About Murder While I’m Eating,” he can light up a stage. His latest, this year’s Give Till It’s Gone, finds Harper collaborating with Jackson Browne on “Pray That Our Love Sees The Dawn,” and Ringo Starr on “Spilling Faith” and “Get There From Here.”

Updated 09/20/2011