Try as they may to be objective, even the most serious musical analyst, if they're being truly honest, will tell you that their favorite songs aren't necessarily the ones that make it to the top of the charts, or those whose composers are the most technically proficient or even the ones that the highest number of their fellow critics laud as essential. No, the music they hold nearest and dearest is almost always that which calls to mind a defining moment in their past; whether it be the unity candle song from their wedding, the closing number from the senior prom or, for those in the baby boom contingent, the first 45 RPM record they ever bought.

From the opening track on Fall to the very last chord played on Summer, Jon Foreman grabs the listener's attention. Whether it's the instrumental accompaniment on each track or how his storytelling takes you on a journey, these 24 songs leave a vast impact on the listener. While most may recognize Jon as being the frontman of San Diego-based band Switchfoot, of his recent solo project Jon has said, "A lot of these songs are the more personal songs that don't really belong on a band record." The listener can agree as the EP's seem to encompass one man's sadness, loneliness, and heartache as well as his hopefulness and determination at finding peace within his world, his God and himself.

Acoustic performance in New York CityI first heard the term “after-show” back in the fall of 2006 when I was looking for the members of Switchfoot and found out there was some sort of acoustic show at a coffee shop several blocks away.  I arrived at the after-venue to find Jon Foreman, lead singer, sharing some of his writings with Drew Shirley backing him up on guitar. A year later, when available coffeehouses were scarce, I attended two after-shows where the platform was the sidewalk outside the venue of the Appetite for Construction tour, including New York City.  Just months later, I had the privilege of attending a “real” Jon Foreman acoustic show near Greenwich Village where Bob Dylan began hitting the music scene decades earlier.