Sean Scolnick, better known by his stage name Langhorne Slim, believes that there is only one true topic in songwriting: love.
Scolnick says on his Twitter page that he writes love songs and that he’s “not sure there’s any other kind.”
“I think when it’s a song about a woman or man or experience, it’s inspired by passion,” he said. “Without love, it’s hard to have passion.”
Scolnick will display his own passion onstage through his folk-tinged tunes when he performs Saturday at The Summit.
Scolnick moved to New York after graduating from high school to pursue a career in music. “I had dreams of conquering the world via music,” he said.
It was around this time when he came up with the moniker “Langhorne Slim.” Scolnick said that “Langhorne” refers to his hometown of Langhorne, Pa., and that “Slim” just “had a good ring to it.”
Scolnick whet his skills as a guitarist by touring with the Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players, including a stop at the 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival. He had released several albums of his own music during his time with the Slideshow Players, but his 2004 EP “Electric Love Letter” brought him a higher level of attention.
The title track off that album was included in Rolling Stone magazine’s Top 10 songs of the week, and it was later featured in the film “Waitress.”
Scolnick left the Slideshow Players to tour under his own name and signed with Kemado Records, which would release his self-titled 2008 album. Scolnick and his band built experience touring with acts such as CAKE and The Avett Brothers. Scolnick played Bonnaroo again in 2007, this time fronting his own band. The group is now going on tour in support of his 2009 album, “Set Yourself Free.”
The group’s music is best classified as folk. The guitar playing is primarily acoustic, the drumming of Malachi DeLorenzo is generally light and Scolnick’s vocals are straightforward and inflect a good deal of emotion. Scolnick says that his aforementioned passion plays into his songwriting and performances.
The songs “are all based on experience,” he said. “But it’s feeling and emotion that bring it out.”
The band also utilizes the upright bass, played by Jeff Ratner, as opposed to the standard electric approach, similar to former tour mates The Avett Brothers.
“I love the sound of it,” Scolnick said of the instrument. “It was also just something different.”
Rounding out the group’s folk aspect is keyboardist and banjo player David More. However, despite the group’s adherence to many of the principles of folk, Scolnick isn’t sure about the classification.
“I’ve always considered us a rock ‘n’ roll band,” he said. “I see it just as music.” To further his point, he threw in a classic Louis Armstrong adage: “There is two types of music: the good and the bad.”
Scolnick has played in a variety of venues, ranging from huge festivals to smaller places like The Summit. He said that he isn’t partial to either option.
“My preference is when it works out,” he said. “They can all be beautiful and magical. They can all be difficult.”
Saturday’s show will begin at 8 p.m. Scolnick, in the role of Langhorne Slim, will do his best to inject his passion into his performance, regardless of its genre.
