By John Schulze Special to OnMilwaukee.com Published Apr 22, 2011 at 9:14 AM Photography: John Schulze

Daphne Willis celebrated the release of her sophomore album, "Because I Can," earlier this week with a show at Shank Hall.

The Nashville-based singer-songwriter culled the final cuts on the album from a writing spree that found her crafting more than 50 songs during the creative process.

Daphne is certainly one of the brightest stars in the realm of indie darlings and her sound is at the crossroads of pop infused alt-folk music with smatterings of blues, jazz and soul.

It's an eclectic mix that crosses boundaries of style in ways that are unexpected and refreshing. Willis certainly has no problems expressing herself, and her confident stage presence allows her to project her alto voice in a manner that really showcases her dynamic range and unique vocal style that can with ease gracefully maneuver an entire octave without sounding overly smug.

If you haven't heard of Daphne just yet, I urge you to catch her on the current tour she's on that has her hitting almost nonstop Midwest and East Coast dates throughout the next two months.