Howie Day brings a refreshingly different sound to the Barrymore Friday night (if he doesn’t lose all of his guitars first).

Acoustically inclined singer/songwriters are a dime a dozen as of late. The genre that can proudly trace its roots to the likes of Bob Dylan, John Denver and other protest-fueled greats has commanded new attention from college campuses across the nation in recent years and led aspiring artists to scramble onto the bandwagon with acoustic guitars in-hand.

A walk down State Street is evidence of this, as one cannot help but notice the kiosks covered in posters for a dizzying array of nights, venues and artists, all promising to deliver the newest rising star. When a formal concert is not possible, musicians adopt the street itself as their venue, sitting cross-legged and strumming wholeheartedly, hoping that a guitar case full of quarters will one day transform into a million-dollar record contract. The only parts of this scene that seem to change from college town to college town, from big city to big city are the names and faces of those hoping to make it big with a few lyrics and a guitar.

So how can one possibly stand out in this seemingly saturated and increasingly stale musical scene? Simple: Be different.

Enter Howie Day, 21-year-old guitar player, vocalist and one-man band.

At first glance, Day is not strikingly different than other artists that inhabit this genre. Similar to John Mayer and Mason Jennings, who recently toured through Madison, Day is a low-key, unassuming, college-age guy who sings and plays his own love-themed songs. These likenesses end, however, when Day takes the stage at live shows. Equipped with an acoustic guitar and digital loop machine, he becomes his own band.

The Badger Herald recently caught up with Day via telephone as he was preparing to go for a jog before a show at Rutgers University. When asked what sets him apart from other like-minded musicians, Day responded, “I try to write the best songs I can.” He added, laughing, “I’m competitive, I just try to be better than everybody, although I know I’m not. I just try to be as true to my own music as I can, and hope that it turns people on.”

It seems to be working.

The magic of Day’s music is threefold, coming from his guitar, his voice and his feet. Yes, his feet. To begin each song, he lays out multiple loops of percussion, sound effects and backup guitar riffs that can be controlled by the multitude of pedals at his feet. These then play in varying patterns and intensities throughout the song, creating a sound that is at times extremely complex yet always perfectly rhythmic.

While digital loops may be the most unusual aspect of Day’s music, it is his voice, passionate and powerful beyond his 21 years, that is his biggest musical asset. Day’s emotion-filled vocals have been compared to those of Dave Matthews — a compliment indeed, considering the latter’s extreme success. In fact, when covering Matthews’ songs, he often surpasses the vocal acrobatics and intensities of Matthews himself.

Day slapped some statistics on the topic of his vocal ability, adding, “I’ve always considered myself kind of a 10 percent guitar player, 90 percent singer.”

Day’s unique use of loops to supplement his strong vocals and guitar sets him apart not only in the eyes of the average singer/songwriter enthusiast, but also among members of the musically enlightened bootleg community. Tapers and concert traders across the country are more and more frequently supplementing their Phish and Pearl Jam bootleg collections with Howie Day live shows. Many past shows and almost all recent shows are traded freely on the Internet, feeding the musical hunger of longtime fans and whetting the appetites of new ones.

Between Day’s 2000 independent release Australia, his cover of the Beatles’ classic “Help” on the soundtrack from the recent film “I am Sam” and the hundreds of bootleg shows available, there is more than enough music to keep even the most devout fans satisfied as they wait for Day’s next local appearance.

Chances are they won’t have to wait long. Day has toured almost non-stop since the age of 18, playing nearly 300 shows a year across the country with everyone from O.A.R. and G. Love to John Mayer and Pat McGee Band, all the while building a fiercely loyal fan base from the ground up.

As one can imagine, a young man who has spent the whole of his early adult life on the road has some pretty interesting stories to tell. When asked about his craziest story from the road, Day laughed and responded, “Well, we’ve had a lot of bad luck recently. The trailer popped open last weekend and my guitars flew out onto I-90. That was interesting. We’ve also been leaving luggage everywhere. It’s been a mess.” Cross your fingers that the tour makes it to Madison next week in one piece.

Day made his first appearance in Madison last February at the Rathskeller in front of a warm crowd drawn primarily by word of mouth. A lot has changed for him since then: He has reached the 21-year milestone (those at the Rathskeller show will remember his many comments about not being able to drink the “big beers,”) he has played on a side-stage for the Dave Matthews Band, and he has signed a record contract with industry powerhouse Epic. The biggest testament to his increasing success, however, is that which has remained the same: his music.

Day summed it up best when asked what had changed between last year and this year, responding simply, “I’m a year older and a year better ? and now I can drink that beer that they sell there.”

Gone are the days of free shows, but those attending next Friday’s show at the Barrymore Theatre will get much more than a $10 ticket’s worth of music. Fans can expect to be swept away by the same intoxicating loops, the same passionate vocals and the same wacky between-song commentary that characterized last year’s Rathskeller show. As always, there will be staple songs off Australia, which, in a live setting, seem to drift along musical paths refreshingly different than those of their album counterparts.

Fans can also expect a variety of cover songs laced with Day’s personal touches. Last year’s concert-goers will remember the decade-jumping cover of Toto’s hit “Africa” and a sing-along version of Pearl Jam’s “Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town.” Along with these favorites, two new songs, “Madrigals” and “After You” are likely to make their Madison debuts Friday night.

So what does the future hold for a barely 21-year-old singer/songwriter who has accomplished so much in just a few years? Plenty.

“[Australia]’s going to be re-released this summer, distributed, and then we’re looking at producers and going in on a new album soon. I’m going to finish up this tour and take about a month off to write and then I’m probably going to write an album on tour this summer, too ? I’ll probably jump onto a bigger tour and do some headlining stuff, then I’ll be hitting the studio in October or November or somewhere in there “.

When you’ve got the ambition and musical ability of Howie Day, this hectic yet fruitful schedule is surely the beginning of something big.