William Beckmann Proves Twentysomethings Can Be Crooners [Video]

With all the earnestness of a love letter, country singer William Beckmann sings classic country tales of pining—for the one that got away, for the red-dressed women from the bar. Over the sounds of his staple bluesy harmonica, he swings from raucous boot-stomping music to ballads with the relaxed feel of a sunlit drive through the Texas towns he sings about. The common denominator is honest storytelling, and an undeniable energy that’s propelled him from his home in Del Rio to venues such as the Corona Club in Acuña, Mexico, which hadn’t seen a country act in almost two decades before Beckmann walked in.

Inspired by the likes of Elvis, Frank Sinatra, and Johnny Cash, the 28-year-old sings in a deep bass, with a smooth cadence that would be right at home on a backroom jukebox. Paired with a rich vibrato that he picked up from the Latin singers he …