John Wesley Harding

A heady singer-songwriter who’s also a well-regarded novelist (under his given name, Wesley Stace), John Wesley Harding creates somewhat straightforward folk-rock twisted up in dense literary allusion and high-concept storytelling. In recent years, Harding’s become somewhat of a New York bon vivant, regularly hosting his “Cabinet Of Wonders” event, a salon featuring appearances from Rosanne Cash, Eugene Mirman, Sarah Vowell, and Martha Plimpton. His new album, The Sound Of His Own Voice, featuring guests Peter Buck, Cash, and members of The Decemberists, traffics in the kind of rich, dense songs that Harding has made his own over the years. This year, he also released his critically lauded third novel, Charles Jessold, Considered As A Murderer. 

Updated 11/02/2011