Singer-songwriter Bobby Jo Valentine and I recently spent the afternoon at his home, in Napa, CA. Bobby is an independent artist, crossing genres with music based in hope-folk, soul-pop, and poetic rock. The focus of his music is to provide meaningful connections to his listeners.

Interestingly, as he tours across the U.S. (and soon Europe), he intentionally performs for a variety of communities, specifically with LGBTQ and faith-based communities. This is where Bobby can create an important intersection of love, hope, and curiosity.

Bobby initially caught my attention, because of his music and our shared, local community. As I found out more, I was intrigued by the way Bobby was connecting with communities and how that was driven from his values and perspectives of the world.

This interview isn’t just about a music career. It’s also about how one man wants to bridge people and ideas, and he’s using his music to do it.

Of course, we do get into Bobby’s music and career, talk about his upcoming album, and we wrap it all up with a live performance of Bobby’s new song, Trading In. And that was amazing.