The divergent paths of Jann Klose and Willy Porter both go to the Fairfield Theatre Company

Willy Porter, a Midwestern folkie

Willy Porter and Jann Klose
Fairfield Theatre Company, StageOne, 70 Sanford St., Fairfield. Thu., April 22, 7:30 p.m. $22. (203) 259-1036, www.fairfieldtheatre.org

Sometimes there are numerous roads that lead to the same destination. The paths singers Jann Klose and Willy Porter have taken to get to the stage at the Fairfield Theatre Company is evidence of this.

Klose has been a traveling man. Born in Germany and raised in Kenya and South Africa, he came to Cleveland as an exchange student and eventually moved to New York. He’s performed over 200 shows in the past two years. “I think the need to travel,” Klose explains. “I think it’s part of the reason I became a musician.”

Porter, on the other hand, credits his career to his Midwestern roots. “Wisconsin is cold in the winter,” he notes, “and people are forced to stay in their houses.” This meant plenty of time to work on music. “The weather was really a good thing for me that way as a kid.”

Although both Klose and Porter have full bands, they’ll be armed only with their guitars at the show. According to Porter, “The audience also has the opportunity to be more involved in what is happening because there is simply less to focus on visually.” Klose seconds this. “It’s just the guitar and the voice,” he says. “Strip everything else away and leave it up to the imagination of the listener.”

The visual element is something both artists are keenly aware of. In fact, Klose is about to release a video for the latest single of his album Reverie, titled “Doing Time.” The video was done in stop motion, “so it took us two days to shoot three minutes and 40 seconds.” He shot it in New York City with students from the New York Film Academy.

Musically, both are men with guitars, but Klose leans more towards the pop end of the singer/songwriter scale, while Porter is closer to the folk side. Porter’s latest album, How To Rob A Bank, illustrates his love of good satire and differing opinions. He notes, “Posing questions and developing strong characters in my tunes has always been the key for me. I don’t claim to have any answers, but I do see that we have, as a culture, been repeating ourselves over and over. I find that interesting.”

One thing Klose sees that’s been repeating itself over and over at his shows is the reaction crowds have to his music. Some artists want standing ovations, but Klose likes to see another reaction. “Not to brag or anything, but when I see couples, when I start playing, they get a little closer to each other.”

April 22 will also mark another kind of connection for the two performers — it will be the first time they meet. By the end of the night it’s more than likely that won’t be the only connection each of them has made.

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