It's questionable how "country" a lot of today's country stars are. That is not the case with Clark Paterson.

Clark was born and raised in Sandusky, Michigan. I know the town very well myself from working up there for a spell some years ago. With a population of under 3000 people, Sandusky is the largest town in Sanilac County, Michigan. It's also the county seat. Sandusky has a couple stop lights but sometimes traffic moves really slow anyway because getting stuck a truck hauling sugar beats or a farm tractor taking a shortcut is not an uncommon thing downtown.

Combining hayseed twang and some punk rock grit that was smuggled in on cassette tapes a county or two over, Clark's latest album, The Final Tradition, is his fully envisioned lament to a scruffy down home sound. He's a real deal.

What are you listening to tonight?