Rebekah Pulley

She is a sparkly jewel in Tampa Bay's crown, a gem with an achingly rough sweetness to her voice that's sigh-inducing. With her backing band, the Reluctant Prophets, Pulley has ventured to South by Southwest and played in Tropical Heatwave, and she brings her dusty, rootsy country melodies and poignantly poetic lyrics to plenty of local venues on a regular basis. www.rebekahpulley.com

Geri X

There's both a soft and strong appeal to Bulgarian-born Geri X's singing, similar to Fiona Apple's. When she moved to Tampa as a teen, she barely spoke a word of English, and in fact even wrote some songs in Bulgarian. She made St. Petersburg her home in 2005, and her sultry alt-folk ballads, such as those found on her CD Can't Make You Happy, quickly struck a nerve. Pray that her April 6 show at the Globe Coffeehouse in St. Petersburg, billed as her "last Florida show," really isn't. www.myspace.com/gerix

Jeremy Gloff

The warm, charismatic and flamboyant Gloff has been a scene supporter as well as a scene stealer, presenting fundraiser events and helping out local visual artists. He incorporates random musical styles, like disco and new wave pop with his reflective rhapsodies to come up with creative twists on the standard ballad. myspace.com/jeremygloff

Lorna Bracewell

Born and raised in Indian Rocks Beach, Bracewell is smart, funny and, quite possibly, the outspoken heir to the Ani DiFranco throne. She tours around the country and comes from a family of singers and instrument players - her mother sings and plays the piano and her father played drums in his younger days. She's recorded three studio albums of acoustic guitars and raspy vocals, but her bestselling CD is Live for CASA, which raised $600 for the Community Action Stops Abuse, a St. Petersburg domestic abuse shelter and outreach organization. www.lornabracewell.com

Acho Brother

Hector Mayoral, the one-man band that is Acho Brother, was born just outside San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mayoral bridges his Puerto Rican childhood and American adulthood through his music. He plays acoustic guitar, some percussion and uses a laptop to play and manipulate pre-programmed electronic tracks. One of his major folk influences is what he calls music of the trovadore (troubadour) - a "genre that's really lyrical and used for serenades." Where did his stage name come from? "Acho is half of muchacho, the Spanish slang word for friend. Puerto Ricans yell acho to get your attention."

Have Gun, Will Travel

His weapon is a Martin D15 acoustic guitar. Bradenton musician Matt Burke, a.k.a. Have Gun, Will Travel, performs on his own or with brother Danny on bass. On his self-titled CD, released in 2006, Burke, 30, plays all of the instruments, which include brushes on snare, harmonica and banjo. The disc got a favorable review in American Songwriter. Burke, also the frontman for indie pop-punk band the Chase Theory, samples from Gram Parsons, Bob Dylan, Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt and Neil Young. "I use a more narrative style in Have Gun, Will Travel," he says. "The Chase Theory stuff is less direct. Even subject matter tends to be different. A lot of times I'm singing in Chase Theory, not in another range really, but I'm belting it out, and then Have Gun, Will Travel is a little more subdued."

John Crayon

The former front man for Crayons says he's not into the warm-fuzzy " singer-songwriter" title. Yet he's wielding his acoustic guitar to perform some songs that dare we say are a little touching. Don't dismiss him as another wimpy poet. The talented musician tempers his soft side with charisma and sarcastic wit. www.myspace.com/johncrayon

Inertia!

Anyone with a fondness for K Records and mellow, intimate music will love Inertia! - who's as enigmatic as her tame name and wild punctuation. The seemingly unassuming and young Lily Richeson packs a wallop of emotional strength and surprises folks expecting another run-of-the-mill whiny chick. www.myspace.com/iiinertia

Tommy Simms

Simms is a husband, father, producer and prolific composer of pop gems all at the tender age of 22. The multi-instrumentalist's refined sense of melody and his charismatic performing style got notice in Disco Nap, which sadly broke up this year. Touches of Jon Brion, Beck and late Elliott Smith can be heard in his tunes.