Jesse Ruben performing at Johnny D's in Boston

This past week, I had the chance to check out the Boston showcase for the New York Songwriters Circle at Johnny D’s. For those of you who haven’t heard of the NYSC, it’s an awesome organization with the same goal as OurStage– to give exposure and support to up-and-coming musicians. Operating out of the legendary Bitter End in Manhattan, the NYSC has helped give rise to songwriters like Norah Jones, Gavin DeGraw, Lisa Loeb and countless others. Needless to say, I was excited to check it out.

I didn’t realize, however, that I was going to get a chance to see one of my favorite songwriters from OurStage– Jesse Ruben.

A few months ago, I stumbled across Ruben’s song “Advice” while judging in the Male Singer/Songwriter channel. I remember adding the song to my favorites and sharing it with my friends in the office. You can imagine my surprise when Jesse began playing “Advice” the other night at the NYSC showcase. I wanted to jump up and say, “hey, I know this guy!” But I waited until a break and went over and introduced myself. He seems like a genuinely good guy. On stage he exhibited a great balance of confidence and self-effacing humility. And his song writing is top notch. Here are a couple of his songs:

Of course, Jesse wasn’t the only talent onstage that night. He was actually one of five songwriters who played original songs in rotation, one after the other.

Tina Shafer, Zach Comtois, Jesse Ruben, Will Knox, and Chana Rothman

The lovely Tina Shafer served as a playful host while adding a few beautiful, heartfelt gems throughout. Boston’s own Zach Comtois (filling in admirably for Liz Longley who was off writing songs with John Mayer!) provided simple, catchy hooks and palpably honest love songs, including “Amanda,” which sounds like it belongs on the radio. Chana Rothman brought her unique blend of Judaic-folk-hip-hop (is that even possible?) and got the entire crowd singing along. And though everyone was great, Will Knox served as the show’s standout, combining vivid imagery and complex chord changes with passionate, heartfelt delivery. I still can’t get his song “Never Letting Go” out of my head.

Here are more pictures of the night (provided by the wonderful Robbie Michaels):

Tina Shafer sings beautifully at Johnny D's

Zach Comtois plays one of his fun, witty tunes.

Chana Rothman gets everyone (even Will Knox) to join in.

Will Knox sings with passion.