Burchfield grew up in serene Seneca, South Carolina. His instinct to write was there from the start, his itch to share was unrelenting. He spent his childhood setting speakers up in parking lots and coffee shops, playing with whomever would join him on “stage” to whomever would listen. At college in Athens, Georgia, he found the scene he’d been trying to create for himself. Opportunities emerged in rapid succession. Burchfield won a songwriting competition, recorded his first EP, and found himself suddenly entangled in sparkly offerings from network television and major labels, chances that ultimately felt more like a detour than a dream come true.

“It was honestly insane,” says Burchfield. “Things felt a little out of my control. I had to really lean on people I respected, whose wisdom I trusted—teachers, friends, family.” Burchfield recognized early on the indispensability of creative autonomy, and the sources of support that kept him grounded. “My community gave me the courage to walk away from paths that didn’t feel right.”

He’s been building a catalog since 2014—originals, concept works, and live recordings. “I think there are like, four or five albums out there at this point?” Burchfield questions, endearingly unprecious. He is as sincere and unassuming as his guitar-playing—earthy and affectingly to-the-point. “Truthfully, it’s been a long journey toward artistic identity. I’ve learned a lot about living into yourself, discovering who you are by simply being.” Nature Speaks is no doubt Burchfield’s best offering to date, largely due to that resonant sense of self.