Eight Gigs: Cory Branan

In our current music climate, the lines separating punk rock and country are increasingly blurry. In this world, Cory Branan should be a superstar—but he's not. Yet. He's the kind of singer-songwriter that slings a guitar like a battle ax and breathes both twang and punk aggression with ease. And, man, can he write a song! He mixes humor, poetic lyricism and deep ferocity into his tunes, and packs them with dynamics, sliding between genres with little effort. He ties it all together with an emotive voice that is boozy enough to bring an entire bar to tears, an almost punk rock Conner Oberst. 2030 P Street, www.facebook.com/corybranan.