Lisa Sandell

Lisa Sandell is folkie who strums her guitar in coffeehouses. One important distinction: The guitar rests horizontally on her lap. The self-taught player honed her acoustic, lap-style slide guitar for years before venturing into standard finger-picking, and she still favors the slide. Her debut album, Little Reason, is a live mix of traditional folk tunes and original songs with a heavy infusion of jazz and funk. In the flesh, her string work is improvisational and her voice is tinged with blues.