Matthew Ryan/David Mead

David Mead's voice is as warm and smooth as sandalwood oil, while Matthew Ryan's vocals are as warm and smooth as No. 2 sandpaper. What are they doing touring together? With a shared Music City zip code, they've followed the trail of post-Dylan songwriters looking for connections — and mostly found they only have themselves to rely on. Mead favors acoustic popscapes à la Matthew Sweet or Josh Rouse and crafts bittersweet fugues of desire lost and found, while Ryan makes scar-like marks in a dream journal beside his sweat-soaked bed and fancies cello plucks and feedback whirring so low you can't be sure you've heard it. Together they represent twin poles of the non-country Nashville underground; you're not likely to see two better songwriters share a stage all year.