This kind of music has the potential to reach a wide audience, therefore you shouldn't settle for anything less than extraordinary performance and an impressive level of energy. A reminder of the power of music to forge relationships across oceans and continents, "Ole" features the powerful vocals of CCT Beats' recruits Jolly B and Danson. It is the song's unique combination of English and Tswana, a...

Take Jack Horton, a Portland-based singer-songwriter whose path to folk-Americana included stops at Japanese law school, Tokyo piano bars, corporate boardrooms, and government offices. His latest EP, "Imperfections," feels like finding someone's private journal set to music. And that someone happens to write really, really well. The five-song collection opens with "Set Me Free," a piano-driven confession that might surprise anyone expecting typical breakup bitterness. Horton...