It should come as no surprise that Cleveland’s The Lighthouse and The Whaler have garnered significant airplay on Seattle’s influential, free-form radio station, KEXP. You can’t walk half-a-block in the Northwest without running into a coffee shop and a beardo in that coffee shop who plays in a folk band.  And, The Lighthouse and The Whaler sure have the easy, folksy groove down pat.  More than that, however, when you check the rustic, plucked strings and the cleanly played piano on their single, “Under Mountain, Under Ground,” it quickly becomes apparent that their airplay may not solely be the result of beardos and the population of music fans who love beardo music.   Musical chops, a strong voice, and clear songwriting can help a lot, too.

MP3: The Lighthouse and the Whaler – Under Mountain, Under Ground