By Evan Johnson

A passionate and joyous crowd packed the Murray Theater, a half-hour north of Provo, recently, to sing along with one of the rising stars of the music scene. Mason Jennings is his name, a pop/folk singer and songwriter from Minneapolis known for his catchy, heart-warming lyrics and distinctive voice. On one of the last stops of the tour, Jennings did not disappoint the Murray crowd, giving an enthusiastic performance.

Jennings recently signed with Jack Johnson's Brushfire Records, on which his latest album, "In the Ever," has been released. He said the label change has led to some changes on this tour.

"The major difference," he said, "is just bringing out a new band and seeing how they interpret the songs."

His new band consists of bassist Jonny Polonsky, drummer Adam Topol and fellow Brushfire pianist Zach Gill, who combined to perform many of the songs from the record.

Jennings said working with Gill has been nothing short of enjoyable.

"It's been a fun trip traveling with Zach Gill and he's been such a blast to have in the band with us and then also opening the show," Jennings said. "It's mostly just a fun extension of what we've been doing before."

This was not Jennings' first trip to Utah. During his first visit, years ago, he said he couldn't believe how many people came out to support him. In fact, he said he enjoys playing here because of the crowd's energy, as well as their willingness to listen to the quiet songs.

"You couldn't ask for anything more," Jennings said.

The Utah crowd appeared to be as enthusiastic as ever.

"Every show could be called a greatest hits concert," said Matt Dalton, a Los Angeles native and Mason Jennings fan. With every song played that night, the theater would roar in response.

Until recently, Jennings had mostly been an independent artist, relatively unknown in mainstream music, but his cult-like fan base made their presence known in Murray, singing along to every word of every song. Even new fan Brian Ferguson, a BYU freshman, said Jennings was "everything I expected and more."

At one point that evening, during the new fan favorite, "I Love You and Buddha Too," the bassist, Polonski, made the crowd cheer with an improvised lyric of "I love you Joseph Smith." Other standouts from the new album included the comedic "Your New Man" and the lively "Never Knew Your Name."

If you didn't know his name already, you do now, and Jennings' name will continue to rise in the music world. His fan base is steadily growing, thanks in part to his ability to put a smile on and lighten the spirits of all those who listen to his work.

"I just try to write about what I'm interested in and stuff that I've been thinking about... Just try to travel a lot, and meet people, and take in lots of different experiences and try to open my heart and then whatever comes out, comes out."

After the tour is over, Jennings plans to take some time to spend with his family to relax and then it's back into the woods of Minnesota to work on some new music.



Copyright Brigham Young University 2 Dec 2008