Justin Henderson celebrates the release of ‘Streetlight’

By Elena Buckley | SDUN Editorial Assistant

Kansas transplant and singer/songwriter Justin Henderson has accomplished a lot to be proud of in the few months that he’s been living in Hillcrest. On May 17, he released his first album, “Streetlight” with Tate Music Group (TMG), a national, independent record label.

The eight-track album covers every aspect of Henderson’s life—from various struggles, to love and heartbreak to what you think about in those moments when you’re all alone with your own thoughts.

Henderson explained that he moved to San Diego because pursuing a career in music simply isn’t done in Kansas.

“Where I was originally from was an economically depressed area,” Henderson said. “People there just do not make a lot of money. It’s hard to leave the area if you live there; it’s hard to get ahead if you don’t have certain things, and most of the people who live there work in factories [and] make minimum wage, if not much more than that.”

Henderson began working on the music that would eventually make up “Streetlight” five years ago, and with encouragement from his sister he began voraciously promoting his music via the Internet, accruing 10,000 fans nationwide. After responding to a call for artists, Henderson signed with TMG about a year ago and began the production process.

“’Streetlight’ was tracked in one month, and then Justin came in to record some guitar and all of his vocals the next month,” Houston Green, the album’s producer said. “I was in charge of getting all of his music tracked according to how he wanted it. I tracked and engineered all of the instruments on the album except for the two songs with Justin’s classical guitar.”

Henderson describes the sound of the album as a mix of alternative, jazz, folk and a little bit of Southern influence, because as he put it, “You can’t live in Kansas for 10 years and get away with that.” The songs are slightly reminiscent of some of Henderson’s favorite artists—early Dave Matthews Band, Jack Johnson and David Grey—’though he said that his music isn’t directly influenced by any one group or individual.

“When I would sit down to write I would just play,” Henderson said. “If something caught my ear and it really just mirrored what I was feeling inside, I would go with it. I would just write. Usually the words would come right with the music; it wasn’t really a complicated process.”

Although most of the sound is very stripped down, showcasing only Henderson and acoustic guitar, the album also features bass guitar, piano, a touch of synthesizer and electric guitar. Elizabeth Parks, Henderson’s manager, explained that it was difficult for them to put the album into one category because the sound produced is so diverse.

Although partial to playing classical guitar, Henderson has experience and training in multiple other instruments. Having learned to play the piano at age 10, he continued studying music through school, finally deciding to pursue it seriously at age 20.

“I’m glad it didn’t happen for me at 20, because I think the life experience I’ve gained since then has definitely helped my music, helped me to have a better handle on what I’m doing now,” Henderson said.

With this first album jumpstarting his career, and some summer shows already lined up, Henderson is in the beginning stages of working on some new material, grooming a slightly more mature sound with new lyrics that reflect the changes that his budding career has brought on.

“Streelight” is now available via amazon.com, the ITunes Store and tatemusicgroup.com. Henderson will be performing at Brick by Brick, at 1130 Buenos Ave. on July 17. For more information, visit: brickbybrick.com. For more information about Justin Henderson, visit: justinhendersonmusic.webs.com, or e-mail [email protected].