Victor Johnson

This man grew up listening to Leadbelly and Mississippi John Hurt, and it seems he's constitutionally incapable of dumbing down his music. Now, his song choices are another story. Still, who can blame the guy for taking on the Alphabet song and "Itsy Bitsy Spider"? After giving us gorgeous kid-friendly roots music, Johnson tackles the simple melodies of songs composed for the very young. He can't lift them out of their simplistic quagmire, but he delivers extraordinarily lovely versions of them.