Doors open at 6 p.m. with the concert starting at 7 p.m. Presented by Roots Rising and sponsored by the Warren Concert Association, James is known for a blend of blues, folk and rock. The Alabama native’s debut album, Singing for My Supper, released in 2020, showcased his distinct ability to weave heartfelt narratives with raw, soulful melodies. Critics have noted influences that include Tom Waits and Leonard Cohen.

Nicolette & The Nobodies will open for Early James at 7 p.m. with James to follow.

“The best country songs take you home,” says Nicolette Hoang, frontwoman and songwriter for the Guelph, Ontario-based band, Nicolette & The Nobodies. “I want to write music that does that, songs that take you home.”

The child of Vietnamese immigrants, Hoang’s embrace of country music came as a surprise to even herself.

Submitted Photos Nicolette of Nicolette and the Nobodies.

“I had a complicated relationship with music growing up,” she shares. “Music was more of a skill or a task, it wasn’t really presented as a place for play or to explore emotionally, even though that’s what I was drawn to the most about it.”

Hoang calls herself a “late bloomer” and is prone to a cheerful sort of awe in acknowledging any of her feats.

“In some ways, I’ve already surpassed my own dreams for myself in having simply written a song. But now that I’ve found that voice, I want to see what it has to say,” she said.