When creativity is good, genuine and refreshing it doesn’t mean it can’t also bring with it a nod to the cultural fabric that came before it. Exhibit A is Louisiana-bred GIVERS, a band that has delivered, with infectious energy, a carefree debut album appropriately titled In Light. Weaving regional musical influences of Cajun and zydeco into indie pop/rock, these talented guys (and a gal) don’t hold much back. Rarely following a typical song structure, their music is an explorative journey through rhythms, instruments, genres, bright melodies and changing tempos. We asked vocalist and guitarist Taylor Guarisco to talk a little bit about their home state and how the soul of Louisiana and the South influences their exhilarating music.

How would you describe your sound?
A blend of afro-influenced rock-folk-pop stuff.

What is your favorite venue in Louisiana to see or play a show?
Our favorite place to both play and watch shows would be the Spanish Moon in Baton Rouge. In many ways we got our start there. The place has a really amazing system and always has good bands coming through.

What do you consider a hidden gem in Louisiana?
Our hometown of Lafayette is a hidden gem for most people. It has such a down to earth feel yet is so rich with the unique cultures of southwest Louisiana. No other place will show you this more than the Blue Moon Saloon, which is an amazing music venue/bed and breakfast. You will have the funkiest, sweatiest, most authentic time there.

What is it about the South that inspires you?
There are so many things – the way people talk, the way people cook. There is this connectedness that people have down South. People will look you in the eye, ask how you are doing, these are things that typically someone in a hurry wouldn’t consider. People in the South know how to take their time, which allows for more of the human connection to take place. The overall feeling in the air is that there is a lot to be celebrated – which is why there are so many festivals – and that life is too short to not be friendly.

How has the culture of Louisiana influenced your art?
Louisiana has influenced us in many different dimensions – the music, the social atmosphere, the celebratory approach to life. Just even the way people celebrate life down here – that is something unique to the South that’s found its way into our music.

Did you intend to incorporate Cajun and zydeco styles into your sound?
All of our musical backgrounds are different. I used to play bass in Cajun and zydeco bands. Some of us have studied jazz and classical music all throughout school. Most of us grew up with Beatles records in the house. The Cajun and zydeco you may hear in our music is definitely an indirect influence. We never consciously incorporated those influences into our songs, it was somewhat an accident, which to me, makes it even better.

Who is someone that makes you proud to live in the South?
Ben Jaffe, the musical director for the Preservation Hall Jazz Band. He ended up inviting us to play their 50th anniversary show in Carnegie Hall. Ben and the whole PHJB operate from such a pure place. It’s so refreshing to find people like that these days.

As the clock strikes midnight and champagne glasses are raised, someone will inevitably start singing a tune that may be one of the most recognizable, yet least understood. Auld Lang Syne is an age-old tradition that stirs the soul, even though most are only able to mumble through the peculiar lyrics.

Let’s shed some light on the song we dust off once a year, so this New Year’s Eve you’ll stand out knowing why we sing it and what it actually says.

History: The song is a poem written by Scotsman Robert Burns in 1788 and set to the tune of a local folk melody. It quickly became popular as a parting song whenever friends and family came together.

Lyrics: The Scottish title Auld Lang Syne translates into English as “old long since.” The lyrics talk about raising a toast to remembering friends and days gone by. Today we mostly sing just the first verse and the chorus.

Should old acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?
Should old acquaintance be forgot, and auld lang syne?

For auld lang syne, my dear, for auld lang syne.
We’ll take a cup o’ kindness yet, for auld lang syne.

Why New Year’s Eve: Singing the song to commemorate the New Year quickly became a Scottish tradition that spread to Ireland and Britain. As the people of the British Isles immigrated to America, the tune’s tradition continued across the Atlantic. Auld Lang Syne was further engrained in pop culture when band leader Guy Lombardo performed it each New Year’s Eve on his annual radio broadcasts starting in 1929. He also recorded the song in 1939 and 1947.

Trivia: The song was actually banned during the Civil War. A popular tune that reminded soldiers of home, it was forbidden in Union camps in December 1862. Following a defeat at the Battle of Fredericksburg, morale was so low Auld Lang Syne was thought to incite desertions.

The thing about time and experience is that they can either make us passé and worn-down or they can bring growth and refinement. For singer-songwriter Ryan Horne, his latest project The Whistler & The Majestic suggests time has delivered the latter.

For his sixth album, Ryan expresses more focus and character while still delivering fresh songwriting in his own style of modern folk and rock. Led by his gritty yet reassuring vocals, there are songs here that seem destined for a television soundtrack (Come On! Come On!), while most are more fitting a solitary drive down a desolate country road (Terrible Tommy). We caught up with Ryan to discuss the album and his recent move to Music City.

How is this project different from your other albums?

I take every album seriously and I always try to start with the song. You have to write a great song first and foremost, so that is always the number one thing I focus on at the beginning. With this album, I had a much clearer picture of how I wanted to build each song. Working with my producer/friend Mitch Dane again, we were able to really capture the vision that we both had. It was just much clearer than the past records, but again, it will always be about the song first. Each has its own life and story.

As you go through the seasons of life, how do you see that expressed in your music?

Songwriting will always be something I do and I am obsessed with working on my craft and putting out greater material with each record. Of course the more life experiences you have, the wiser you become, and hopefully that will reflect in the songwriter’s work. I feel as though with each record I have grown as a writer, singer, player, producer, etc.

You recently moved from Atlanta to Nashville. How has that move changed your perspective or your music?

Atlanta and Nashville are two wonderful cities and very different, as well. I love both in their own right. Nashville seems to have a closer community, especially musicians, because it is smaller and filled with artist types. Atlanta has so much life to it and so many different cool areas to visit and hang out. Nashville has so many songwriters and just creative minds and personalities. My love is for the song. Creating it, building it into this massive piece of art that hopefully will touch many people. I felt to better my craft, I wanted to be surrounded by more artists. It has been inspiring and has really started to push me more to create excellence in my work.

Hear Ryan Horne perform his new album live at 3rd and Lindsley on December 20.

The thing about time and experience is that they can either make us passé and worn-down or they can bring growth and refinement. For singer-songwriter Ryan Horne, his latest project The Whistler & The Majestic suggests time has delivered the latter.

For his sixth album, Ryan expresses more focus and character while still delivering fresh songwriting in his own style of modern folk and rock. Led by his gritty yet reassuring vocals, there are songs here that seem destined for a television soundtrack (Come On! Come On!), while most are more fitting a solitary drive down a desolate country road (Terrible Tommy). We caught up with Ryan to discuss the album and his recent move to Music City.

How is this project different from your other albums?

I take every album seriously and I always try to start with the song. You have to write a great song first and foremost, so that is always the number one thing I focus on at the beginning. With this album, I had a much clearer picture of how I wanted to build each song. Working with my producer/friend Mitch Dane again, we were able to really capture the vision that we both had. It was just much clearer than the past records, but again, it will always be about the song first. Each has its own life and story.

As you go through the seasons of life, how do you see that expressed in your music?

Songwriting will always be something I do and I am obsessed with working on my craft and putting out greater material with each record. Of course the more life experiences you have, the wiser you become, and hopefully that will reflect in the songwriter’s work. I feel as though with each record I have grown as a writer, singer, player, producer, etc.

You recently moved from Atlanta to Nashville. How has that move changed your perspective or your music?

Atlanta and Nashville are two wonderful cities and very different, as well. I love both in their own right. Nashville seems to have a closer community, especially musicians, because it is smaller and filled with artist types. Atlanta has so much life to it and so many different cool areas to visit and hang out. Nashville has so many songwriters and just creative minds and personalities. My love is for the song. Creating it, building it into this massive piece of art that hopefully will touch many people. I felt to better my craft, I wanted to be surrounded by more artists. It has been inspiring and has really started to push me more to create excellence in my work.

Alexander Beggins and Kelsey Wilson lived only a few streets apart in Austin, Texas, but it took a six-week tour with a Scandinavian band to pave the way for them to become self-proclaimed “musical soul mates.”

“We knew right away that we were a perfect match,” Kelsey says of her and Alexander’s initial songwriting experience a year ago. So we came back to Austin, and got a band together.” Releasing their debut album this week, Wild Child combines the couple’s lead vocals with the talents of four other band members – Evan Magers (keyboard), Carey McGraw (drums), Sadie Wolfe (cello) and Matthew Mares (multiple instruments).

After only five months together, and with the help of Grammy-winning engineer Erik Wofford, the unique crew is releasing Pillow Talk. The indie-folk album highlights the singers’ boy-girl, back-and-forth style, layered over jovial chord progressions.

“Everything was just so natural, the songs just kept coming,” Beggins noted. And come they did, with a large collection of fifteen songs on their debut. The Ukulele-laden title track, the more string-heavy I’ll Figure You Out, and the vocal harmonies of That’s What She Say, represent the band’s catchy, agreeable sound.

Refreshingly, Wild Child is just as down-to-earth as their acoustic sound. “In five years, if we’re living in the same houses, drinking the same Lone Star beer and still making music, we’ll be happy.”