Longtime indie-folk favorite plays 707 Sports Bar & Nightlife on Friday, July 24th.

Longtime indie-folk favorite plays @707rapidcity on Friday, July 24th.

The Minneapolis songwriter has spent nearly thirty years building one of the most quietly respected catalogs in modern folk music, mostly outside the machinery of mainstream radio or major-label hype. His songs have shown up in surf films, indie playlists, and enjoyed on late-night drives with the windows rolled down.

Jennings first started gaining attention in the late 1990s after releasing his self-titled debut in Minneapolis. Since then, he has released a long run of records. Jennings writes plainly. He does not hide behind heavy metaphor or theatrical delivery. A lot of his songs feel more like somebody thinking out loud in the middle of the night than somebody trying to impress a room. Relationships, faith, isolation, restlessness, getting older, trying to stay grounded are comon themes in his music.

People who follow Jennings tend to talk less about spectacle and more about atmosphere. Quiet rooms, careful audiences and the strange intimacy that happens when a crowd stops treating a concert like background noise. That makes a venue like 707 an interesting fit. The room is big enough to pull in a crowd but still close enough that an acoustic set can feel personal instead of distant.

The July 24 show starts at 7 p.m. Advance tickets are $20, with reserved seating available.