Pete Yorn

This New Jersey native first emerged in the early '00s as part of the post-David Gray pack of male singer-songwriters eager to set their sensitive-dude pain to the timeless sound of strummed acoustic guitars. Pop's moved on to less earnest fare since then, but Yorn's still worth hearing, thanks to his sharp melodic sense and his increasing interest in record-nerd studio science: Nightcrawler, due in August, includes collaborations with the Dixie Chicks (whose latest features input from Yorn) and power-pop whiz Butch Walker. Tonight he'll play acoustic as part of an intimate warm-up trek he's calling the You & Me Tour.