When singer/songwriter Amos Lee was a kid, he listened to pop music on the radio, and he loved the music of Frank Sinatra he heard playing over the sound system in the waiting room at his doctor's office.

It was Barry Manilow's "Copacabana" that made him realize, at 6 years old, the power of a story set to music. Still, music wasn't a big part of his life. His passion was basketball. All that changed, though, when he was a teenager and for the first time he heard the music of John Prine. "I was like a snake in a basket," he said on the phone at his home in Philadelphia, "and the music lured me out of the basket. ... I heard his songs (and said to myself) this makes me feel better about life."

At 18, he began writing his own songs and began performing in his early 20s. Multi-award-winning singer/songwriter Norah Jones heard his demo and recruited him to tour with her in the summer of 2004.

Now 29, Lee just released this second album, "Supply and Demand." He performs a sold-out show at the Big Easy in Portland Friday.

"(Prine's) music has been a big influence on my life," Lee said, "and through that a big influence on my music."

The thing that knocked Lee off his feet about Prine's music is Prine's ability to fuse the tragic with lightheartedness and to let listeners discover what the music means rather than to tell them. Lee's style builds off the subtlety he loves in Prine's music. While some folks categorize Lee's music as folk, it seems more a blend of styles. The New York Post calls his sound "soul-folk." In his songs, you can hear soul and blues, rock and even country-style swing. His music is introspective without being rip-your-soul-open revealing or overly sentimental.

Whatever you want to call Lee's sound, it and his music resonate with listeners. The buzz around him has grown since he first went on tour with Norah Jones.

He's shared the stage and toured with legends in the music world including Bob Dylan, Merle Haggard, Paul Simon and, yes, Prine.

His self-titled debut album peaked at No. 2 on Billboard's Heatseekers chart, and his songs have been featured in TV programs such as "What About Brian," "Brothers and Sisters," "House," "Grey's Anatomy," "ER" and "Six Degrees."

His sold out show Friday is a solo acoustic performance. Mutlo opens.

Friday's concert is 21-plus.

News assistant Stephanie Bouchard can be contacted at 791-6455 or at: sbouchard@pressherald.com