Like Patty Griffin before him, singer/songwriter Howie Day emerged from the country quietude of Bangor, Maine, and entered both Boston's coffeehouse scene and the world of folk music. Unlike Griffin, however, Day stretched the boundaries of acoustic music from the very start, often using loop pedals in concert to create lush, layered sounds with a single guitar. He later expanded that sound to include electric instruments, strings, and a full backing band, a move that resulted in such pop/rock hits as "Collide" and "She Says."
Born in 1981, Day started playing piano as a youn...