ANDREW SALGADO, 86 Vol 2 - Autumn Dawn

For an indie artist as ultra-talented, multi-faceted and good hearted/service oriented as Andrew Salgado, sometimes having a years-long track record of associations with big name competitions, charitable organizations and superstars he’s opened for has been a bit of a distraction from the emotional vocals and stylistically eclectic, lyrically insightful songwriting that’s the driving foundation of all those other accolades.

Those grand achievements – winning the Pepsi Southern Original at the Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam, raising money and hands on participation in Autism Speaks, Music Over Miles and other non-profits and opening for the likes of Carrie Underwood and Toby Keith – will always be there as powerful elements of his inspirational story.

Yet all those incredible things slip quietly away for the 50 minutes it takes on the Chicago based singer/songwriter’s second full length album 86 Vol 2 – Autumn Dawn – the long awaited sequel to his 2018 debut 86, Vol 1 – for him to invite us into wildly poetic, soul-transforming lyrics that are like an ever spinning emotional-spiritual playground of acoustic tenderness and electric intensity, taking us from gentle reflections (“Learning How To Forget”) and cautiously hopeful pop-rockers (“Maybe Tonight”) through the pain of self-doubt (the Latin tinged “Breathe”) and on to carefree rollicking and self-confident jams (“Lipstick Stains on My T-Shirt,” Latin and Country renditions of “Senorita Call My Name”) that remind us it’s always possible to break through the barriers our pain has set up in self-defense.

As we progress through the 15 tracks – which he wraps with a percussive power ballad featuring vocals by Andrea and Dominique – it’s as if the artist is sharing his innermost thoughts on the nature of love in all its facets and life with all its ups, downs, struggles, triumphs and crazy hairpin turns. Releasing the album concurrently as a 13 track vinyl LP, the hard working, philanthropic artist is sure to delight and challenge current fans while capturing the hearts of new followers with his incredible genre-busting originals.