Seven Days: Vermont's Independent Voice

Strum On

Strolling through Harvard Square, you stop to listen to a busker with an acoustic guitar and a bluesy growl. He’s a little corny, a lot accomplished and addictively sincere. A decade or so ago, that might have been Martin Sexton. The Syracuse native worked the Square, saving dollar bills and selling self-produced CDs out of his guitar case, till a batch of awards helped land him on the Atlantic label in 1998. Today, the classic roots rocker — who’s been compared to Otis Redding and Van Morrison — has his own label, Kitchen Table Records, on which he released the live double disc Solo last fall. The self-proclaimed “road warrior” is happiest working a crowd, and you can catch him at the Chandler Music Hall on Friday, with alt-folkie Chris Trapper opening.