Willy Mason: a folk-singing prodigy's romantic travails and jailhouse tales

He may be just 19 years old, but singer-songwriter Willy Mason is already living the life of a folk hero. The Martha's Vineyard, Massachusetts, native is a nomad, living out of his van. In the classic form of American roots musicians, his family members accompany him when he performs. And like all the greats, Mason has even had brushes with authority. "The most stage fright I've ever had in my life was when I played in jail," he says, recalling a night last year when he sang for his holding cell mates in a midtown Manhattan precinct. (Mason was arrested when police stopped him in Times Square and found a little bit of an illegal substance stashed inside his guitar case. He was later released without being charged.) "People were rapping, and they heard I was a singer. So I sang my song 'Oxygen.' They were reacting; they had nothing else to do, being in an empty room for 30 hours, but eventually I won them over."

That troubadour's mind-set has done well by Mason, whose debut, Where the Humans Eat (Team Love), is a stripped-down magnum opus of folk songs arranged over a bed of bouncing blues riffs and shuffling, down-home percussion. His earnest voice, which manages to evoke both the late Johnny Cash and Coldplay's Chris Martin, wraps around intricately crafted lyrics that tackle big subjects like spirituality, nature, and love. Yet, musical outlaws like Hank Williams, John Lee Hooker, and Tom Waits are the people who really get Mason going. "Their work is really spontaneous and natural," says Mason. "And I have always wanted to approach things with that same attitude."

Milena Selkirk is a New York City-based writer. Styling: LEITH CLARK/Balcony Jump. Grooming: STEFAN KNIGHT/DW Management. Photo: TIM RICHMOND.

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