While threads of R&B, rap and rock run through country radio airwaves, this Georgia native’s music has more in common with that of heartland rockers Bruce Springsteen and John Mellencamp, featuring straightforward yet affecting arrangements that support this skillful storyteller’s lyrics.

Kip’s blend of country and rootsy folk-rock isn’t showy; much like George Strait, he lets his earthy, blue-collar songs take the spotlight. Those songs have plenty of stories to tell, the topics ranging from love and loss to escapism and faith.

In “Reckless (Growing Up),” he chronicles a meandering journey filled with partying, a stint in the Peace Corps and the pursuit of a record deal. In “Beer Money,” he’s a small-town man with just enough cash to burn at week’s end. From beneath the workingman bravado, his hopeless-romantic side surfaces in “Hey Pretty Girl” and the splendid “Where You Are Tonight.”

Kip’s grainy, warm and confident vocal delivery ties the tales together into a believable tapestry.