Born Wesley Harding Stace in Hastings, England, John Wesley Harding's biting social commentary and outrageous humor blend seamlessly with his warm, personal songs. Wes taught himself by listening to the likes of Bert Jansch and John Prine, fashioning himself as an amalgam of his favorites. In the mi-1990s he released two albums that demonstrated his uniquely versatile and enduring quality as a performing songwriter. On Awake, he delivers clever, irony-laden lyrics in "gangsta" folk style that features fascinating bi-tonal and polytonal figures and percussion loop samples. On Trad Arr Jones, he showcases eleven traditional pieces that were originally arranged by Nic Jones, who helped revive the British ballad tradition in the 1960s. His eighth album, The Confessions of St. Ace, (Mammouth), released last year, features his song "I'm Wrong About Everything" which was included in the soundtrack of the recent film hit High Fidelity.