What made you connect to it? I was connecting with the unbelievable open-­mindedness and friendliness - it sounds like a cliché, but it's a good cliché to have. For the first time in my life, I was playing shows at venues and making friends with people who were there. Where I was from in Connecticut, as a musical springboard, there's nothing. In Atlanta, people would just go out and get a beer and whatever was on was on. They would actively participate in watching shows. If somebody's girlfriend dragged him or her out to go see a show and they liked it, they were hooked. They were like, "See ya next week." I'd never seen anything like it.

What is your earliest memory of the city? Shawn Mullins. I can't think of Atlanta­ without thinking of Shawn Mullins. He was such a huge inspiration for me. The day I landed in Atlanta, the radio was playing his song "Lullaby" on a show called "Locals Only" on [radio station] 99X. Now, you are coming down to Atlanta to play ­music for a living, and you hear this guy with that song, and it's local? You want to pack up and go - leave before your boxes get there. From the very get-go, it was a challenge. Then, once I met him, I learned so much about how to be cool from him.

Like what? People who get famous in Atlanta are held to a certain standard of genuineness by their friends and fans. I don't know anyone in Atlanta who has lost their head if, when they became successful, they stayed in Atlanta. Once you leave Atlanta, everybody assumes you've lost your mind. Everyone assumes you have given up your heart. I could sell millions of records, and as long as I live in Atlanta, there's no dissent. If you go to New York, all the local musicians think you are a traitor. There's a little bit of a Shawshank Redemption-type thing with the local musicians in Atlanta. There is such a support. Even when there are people who are 10 times better than you, you still buddy up with them and find out how they got where they're at. There's better communication among artists there than anywhere else.