Completely pretense-free, his debut delivers a focused collection of low-key acoustic pop with a fragile saltwater twang” (Stephen Bove, Asbury Park Press, Oct. 2008). That’s the kind of buzz singer/songwriter Quincy Mumford is generating up and down the Jersey Shore — and beyond — with his novel take on today’s genre of feel-good music.

A beach kid through and through who can be found skateboarding or snowboarding when he isn’t playing several times a week at local venues to an ever-expanding crop of loyal followers, Quincy has been making music and penning his own tunes since he was nine years old and first started experimenting with his distinctive blend of folksy grooves, soulful undertones, and reggae rhythms.

In 2008, he released his first full-length album, titled Quincy Mumford, to great acclaim, earning him three Asbury Music Awards nominations, a coveted place in WBJB 90.5 The Night’s Emerging Artists Concert Series, the #11 spot on 90.5 The Night’s “Top 90 Albums Released in 2008,” and entry at #103 on the “Top 200 Songs on Non-Commercial Triple A Radio” chart.

By 2009, his second album, South Edgemere, was voted #7 on WBJB’s list of top albums of the year, and he nabbed all three Asbury Music Awards for which he was nominated: Best Male Acoustic Act; Album of the Year; and Song of the Year (“Can’t Break Free”).

Influenced by such high-talent, laid-back contemporary artists as Jack Johnson and John Mayer, Quincy is a self-described “down-to-earth, happy, and creative guy focused on his career” who finds inspiration for his meaningful lyrics in the real-world people and places that inhabit his small-town daily life. Take “My Town,” from his debut CD, or “Helmet Man,” a track on his second CD about the ubiquitous old guy who rides around town on his bike — both are quintessentially Quincy, colorful cuts of unassuming life, marbled with intense flavor but served up richly mellow with a mature sensibility that belies the writer’s young age.

Whether he’s raising awareness of environmental issues like beach preservation, raising funds for charitable causes that inform his worldview, or raising the spirits of audiences young and old at a benefit concert to feed the homeless, Quincy’s the real deal — actually living the life he sings about, like his regular Friday-night jam sessions on the beach at surf camps for kids or his foray with the Sons of Ireland Polar Bear Plunge to promote clean ocean action.

Quincy’s music is kind of like Quincy himself — subtle but strong. Before you know it, your feet are tapping and your heart is smiling, having been transported to that soothing, uplifting place Quincy Mumford aims to take listeners on every song he writes.

So, if you would like to win one of these new CDs, and you think you know all there is to know about the man himself, just answer this easy question: “My Town,” from his debut CD, is an homage to his native town and city of ... what?!

Send us your answers and if you're correct you'll be in the running to win one of these CDs! Just send us an e:mail here before August 1st with your answer and the subject title CONTEST: QUINCY MUMFORD CDs to: exclusivemagazine@flash.net