Wow! Who the Heck is Adam Wakefield?
My cousin watches The Voice. I watch (ed) American Idol. With all reality TV has to offer, you must make choices or you’ll never get your emails returned, kitchen cleaned up or your garden planted. But if I’m feeling left out about what’s happening over on NBC, cousin Kris is my go-to. She and I actually binged out a few weeks ago in front of her computer to compare the chops of last fall’s Voice winner Jordan Smith with this spring’s American Idol winner Trent Harmon. That was fun. We even ran a face-off between their renditions of Sam Smith’s Like I Can (Can) and Sia’s Chandelier. I’m not 100 percent sure but I think we decided Jordan edged out Trent on Like I Can and Trent conquered the win with Chandelier. Or, at least that is how I remember it.
But I wasn’t aware that The Voice finale was upon us until tonight. I finally figured out that this guy Adam Wakefield, who kept popping up on my Twitter feed, was a finalist. First, one of my all-time favorite singers Vince Gill fed a link to Adam singing his classic When I Call Your Name. Check it out below! There is something very pleasing about a burly, husky-voiced guy wearing a cool hat playing a piano and singing a nice sweet song.
If that wasn’t enough, tonight Adam performed with another of my favorites Alison Krauss on the 1971 classic country rock song Willin’ by Little Feat. Their performance was retro-ey in a 70s way and sweet, light and airy. Whoever thought of pairing them was smart! I’m sure Kris enjoyed it too because she used to live in New Mexico and Willin’ is a southwestern anthem.
But I repeat, who is Adam Wakefield? According to the bio on his Facebook page, Adam lists Plymouth, NH, as his hometown and he currently lives in Nashville. He worked as a touring musician and songwriter before his stint on The Voice and was a member of a progressive bluegrass group The Copperheads. The bio mentions Derek Trucks and Jason Isbell as related performers. Good company there. Before Nashville, Adam lived in Baltimore and was a founding member of a soul band called Old Man Band. I also read on Hollywood Life that he studied jazz at The New School in New York City.
Adam didn’t quite pull off the win on The Voice tonight — he came in 2nd behind former childhood TV star Alisan Porter –but he has paid his dues. And he got me with the Vinny song. I’ll be downloading Adam’s iTunes catalog and investigating his earlier work tomorrow.
I claim no rights to the videos — they were both posted by NBC’s The Voice.
karenlovescountry.com 
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