We all know it. It can be heard on Bascom Hill from the guy playing a Jack Johnson song on his guitar. It emanates from dorm rooms with the folk-rock sounds of the Counting Crows and Ben Harper. Crooning listeners with an indie feel and relatable lyrics, it pumps through the ear buds of countless iPods and CD players around campus. It is the “college sound” — the type of catchy, acoustic, folk-based music that produces songs sung along with and performed as covers by students on universities and colleges across the country. Several musicians have encompassed this sound, and the epitome of this genre will be displayed this Saturday with the performances of Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers and Braddigan, formerly of the extremely popular college favorite, Dispatch.

In the music of Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, audiences find the seamless meeting of folk rock and pop rock. Finding inspiration in the sounds of Van Morrison, the Band, Jack Johnson and Elvis Costello, Kellogg and his band deliver upbeat melodies that merge all of the sounds of inspiration into one.

The group delivers optimistic, engaging melodies that support candidly honest lyrics and, according to Kellogg, the songwriting is what he feels is most important: “… I never wanted to be a guitar player. Even today, the guitar is more a means to an end, a way for me to get the story out. I’m a driven songwriter, not a driven musician. What is great about the guitar … is how you can dive right in and have fun, even with the most remedial knowledge of it.” It is the honest and relatable lyrics along with simple and “jamable” songs that make Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers the perfect candidate for a favorite band among college students.

Stephen Kellogg began his career by pursuing solo performance. Like countless other musicians he grew up in a household that loved music, with his childhood filled with everything from the folk songs of his parents to the rock and metal of his siblings. Kellogg’s sister brought him to a Whitesnake concert when he was nine years old, and in high school, the aspiring musician began singing and songwriting.

He became serious about pursuing music in college when, encouraged by positive feedback from impromptu dorm audiences, he started the Stephen Kellogg Band, playing a mix of originals and covers. Remembering his college days with his first band, Kellogg says, “We were the kings of the keg parties. I felt like a rock star until graduation; then I thought ‘Where the hell did everybody go?'”

After graduation, though, Kellogg continued to pursue a music career, paving his own way by independently managing himself and starting his own label. He delivered his CDs to record stores around his hometown of Boston, MA, and began what would be an extensive tour stint, performing whenever and wherever he could.

It was on the road where Kellogg met the two men who would eventually make up “the Sixers” part of the band. Bassist and keyboardist Keith “Kit” Karlson met Kellogg at a truck stop in Massachusetts and Brian “Boots” Factor sent the solo musician an e-mail saying he wanted to quit his day job and become a professional drummer. The addition of “the Sixers” to Stephen Kellogg has served as a perfect combination of two separate entities.

Karlson and Factor present an impressive musical front on their own, without overshadowing Kellogg, and all three musicians meld well together, creating a group focused on the same central purpose. Kellogg says, “We’re always looking to put something in the song that makes your cheeks get hot, or makes you go — Ooh that’s the money spot.”

Finding the “money spot” is a specialty of Braddigan (Brad Corrigan), one-third of the now broken-up band Dispatch. Performing with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers at many of their show dates across the country, Braddigan continues, with a solo career, the success received while a member of Dispatch.

With Dispatch’s farewell concert taking place in July of 2004, taking a rest from the road and performing as a member of the college favorite has given the musician a chance to focus on his solo career. Taking advantage of this opportunity, Braddigan has spent time exploring other facets of his craft and honing his own musical talents. Since the band’s breakup, Braddigan has spoken at several conferences, colleges and prep schools around the country. He has also spent time recording with other artists, including an appearance on Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers’ latest release.

With the popular Madison-based college band the Profits opening, the teaming-up of Braddigan with Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers is a joining that promises to deliver raw talent, smooth acoustic sounds and unstructured entertainment to the Annex this Saturday.

Kellogg describes the band’s shows when he says, “We may start off the set with a song I wrote 10 minutes before the gig or trade classic licks if we’re feeling particularly sassy. We might even have Keith do a bit of break dancing — badly.” The spontaneity of Kellogg, teamed with the experience of Braddigan and the energy of the Profits, will convey the talent that makes each musical act a favorite among college students everywhere, and is sure to reflect the “college sound.”

Tickets are $10, available both in advance and at the door. Doors open at 8 P.M. with the show starting at 8:30.