Providence-based singer/songwriter Steve Volkmann states that his songs are “inspired by everyday people and their stories” and, on tracks like “Slow Road” (streaming below), the mundane is imbued with meaning. As the poet C.K. Williams does with his quietly profound poems, Volkmann on his songs not only observes but sympathizes with lonely hearts. The guitar-ambled song “In the City” from this past November, for instance, has the speaker himself longing for a woman from afar, his pining redeemed by the ability to feel itself. Steve Volkmann plays at AS220 in Providence, Rhode Island on 2/2. – Zach Weg