I witnessed Matthew Mayfield live for the first time during last year’s CMJ festival and was blown away by his performance. I was fortunate enough to stumble into his set at Rockwood Music Hall and was truly impressed. Alone onstage with acoustic guitar and his deep vocals, he quickly became one of my Top 5 Artists to Watch.

Since I received a copy of his upcoming release, Now You’re Free, in the mail last week I haven’t been able to stop listening. I’ll have a complete review for you next week, but here’s a sneak peak of one of the tracks, “Element.” My favorite song on the album, the lyrics and vocals are powerful and emotional.

Written when he was 19, he says it’s the one song that’s stuck around so long that he still likes. Watch it below and to download the first track on the album, “Come Back Home,” visit his Web site.