Jeff Klein

Jeff Klein, an upstate New York native whose haunting style sometimes evokes Jay Farrar or Jon Dee Graham, relocated to Austin, TX, intent on establishing himself. The singer/songwriter earned critical praise for his 2000 debut You'll Never Get to Heaven if You Break My Heart, which led CMJ Magazine to name him among five "Must-See Austin Acts."

Born and raised in Newburgh, NY, Klein drew early influence from his older brothers' collections of Replacements, Nick Drake, Clash, and Dinosaur Jr. records. He began composing original material by age 15 and, at 18, headed to Boston to enroll at the Berklee School of Music. Following a brief period there, he settled in New Paltz, NY, the college town near Woodstock, where he built a loyal regional following and moved more than 3,000 copies of a self-released EP. In 1999 he arrived in Austin, the songwriters' mecca, and formed close ties with local veterans Jon Dee Graham, Will Sexton, and Alejandro Escovedo.

Building on the acclaim for his first album, Klein recorded Everybody Loves a Winner under the guidance of Nashville songwriter and alternative country artist Matthew Ryan. The sessions included contributions from Jon Dee Graham and Patty Griffin, who was then Klein's landlord. He released the follow-up Hustler in 2005.