Dan Tedesco will perform at 9 p.m. Thursday, Nov. 12, at Bar La Tosca in Ames. Admission is free and open to the public.

Originally from Chicago, Tedesco is a folk singer and songwriter who currently resides in Des Moines. He has played shows in many places, ranging from Ames to Texas and Kentucky.

Tedesco said that lately he has been able to get to know the local scene of Des Moines and he believes that it offers great opportunities.

“I’ve lived in very big cities, so it’s nice to be somewhere that’s smaller that you can dig into a bit more and get to know the scene as a whole opposed to just little bits and pieces of it,” Tedesco said.

Tedesco loves to connect to the audience with his music by presenting them with thought-provoking songs. His lyrics often focus on “narrating the American Experience,” and he described this by saying he writes music in a way that can challenge people’s feelings.

“I like to challenge people and bring new questions to the table in a way that you might challenge friends of yours in a discussion, and I like to be challenged by the things I hear back from people as well,” Tedesco said about his new album.

“I don’t mean that in an aggressive way but more in a way of trying to grow as a person through the relationship I have playing for and interacting with an audience.”

Tedesco has recorded four albums and he sees every one of them as special parts of his career. He is currently coming off a self-titled album which was recorded entirely on his iPad at his house.

Tedesco believes that the setting and simple recording style added an honest look to the experience and meaning to the tracks on the album. For him, it was a change from the typical studio setting.

“I feel like I’ve made a dent a little bit deeper than my other records have in the sense of refining, and maybe more than refining, defining my own voice and sort of capturing the essence of really what I think makes up my artistic perspective,” Tedesco said.

To find out more about Tedesco visit his website.