Roger Manning

Roger Manning's raw, agitated songs probably wouldn't sit well over lattes and cheesecake at Starbucks, but Manning plays the part of urban folkie well. Strumming loudly in torn-up jeans and a dirty, sleeveless t-shirt Manning professes, "I ain't from the peace movement...I'm from the anti-bullsh*t movement," then almost conversationally recalls a time when people "took to the street to speak with feet." Manning's songs don't spoon-feed sensitivity the way artists such as like Jewel or Natalie Merchant do; rather, they offer a refreshing, charismatic approach to the socially-charged, old-fashioned storytelling of artists like Bob Dylan and, more recently, P.W. Long.