Reed Foehl and Jefferson Hamer

From the mountains of Colorado to the sands of Nosara, singer songwriter Reed Foehl dazzled audiences here recently with his smooth country-folk melodies. Although this was his first trip to Costa Rica, his mellow stylings, accompanied by Jefferson Hamer, were well suited for the tranquilo beach vibe here.

Performing songs from his three CDs, with many crowd favorites and requests, Foehl’s songwriting style demonstrated solid melodies, and a storytelling style that put him in league with his influences, including John Prine, Neil Young and the Grateful Dead. Foehl and Hamer were invited to Nosara to perform by local developer Peter Gilman, at the opening of Selvamar, his project near the Del Mar Academy. The stage and wood roof of the clubhouse provided warm acoustics that were perfect both for unplugged sets, with two acoustic guitars and their alto-tenor harmonies, as well as Hamer’s plugged-in guitar for the Saturday night set. Foehl grew up in what he calls a ‘one light’ town near Boston under the influence of the Bluegrass music played by his father, and every Thursday night was concert night, he recalled between sets here. Originally co-founding, touring and recording with Acoustic Junction, based in Boulder, Colorado, he has been a solo artist for more than five years. He tours relentlessly, often with Hamer as a duo, and his songs have been used in several motion pictures like “Just Friends” and television scores like The Biggest Loser, Dawson’s Creek and Joan of Arcadia among others.

Given the contemplative nature of many of his songs, it is not surprising to hear that he practices yoga and planned to spend time here in yoga classes. A gregarious Leo, he considers himself a fish as much as a lion, and also planned to do some grommet surfing during his relatively short visit here. “The feeling of water is very calming for me,” he said, as reflected in the name of his new CD, Once an Ocean. He’ll no doubt be wishing for more than a week’s visit here.

His home is just outside of Boulder, and while he may get inspiration from that ‘Rocky Mountain High,’ made famous by another sweet-voiced Coloradan transplant, his inspired singing in Nosara made it clear that he was tapping into our own special altitude and attitude.

He quotes Tom Waits on songwriting, “like ghosts you want to grab them when they come by.” Some of his songs, such as Indian Summer, from his first CD, Spark, come to him so fully realized “I don’t have to write them down. They’re in my mind. The mornings are great for songwriting before I have time to think.”