Doug Hoekstra is a second-generation American, born on the last day of February in Columbus, Ohio, dropped in to the heart of the Midwest among a landscape of flat horizons and expansive skies, writes Tim Metcalfe.

The last name is Dutch; Hoekstra's grandparents on his father's side immigrated to Chicago from England and Holland, respectively. On his mother's side, both parents were born in Lithuania in little farming towns, less than a day away by horse and cart. Remarkably, they immigrated to America separately, but wound up by finding each other together in the small coal-mining town of Taylorville, Illinois.

Doug grew up in Naperville, Illinois, a suburb west of Chicago. He stumbled into his older brother's room one too many times and began listening to his pile of Beatles, Dylan and Otis Redding record. In 1990 Doug formed Bucket Number Six, a band that wound up recording two CDs and toured the Midwest extensively. 'Bucket' played country music with an edge, citing influences such as Johnny Cash, Gram Parsons and Hank Williams.

February 1999 saw the release of Hoekstra's third album, Make Me Believe. An impressive combination of songcraft and production savvy, the disc showcases Hoekstra's tightly-written musical narratives, intriguing blends of folk, pop and soul.

Tomorrow night Hoekstra, who now lives in Nashville, takes a break from working on the follow-up to Make Me Believe to perform a special one-off date in Oxford alongside fellow singer songwriters Brent Mitchell (from Denton,Texas) and Kat Parsons (from Chicago). Music starts at 8pm and admission is a bargain at 3 (2 unwaged).