Folk singer Tom Brosseau performs in the MPR studios

Folk singer Tom Brosseau has been called a "musical storyteller." Born and raised in Grand Forks, North Dakota, he now lives in Los Angeles but says his heart remains on the prairie.

"I have certain relics in my apartment," Brosseau told NPR. "A pair of Dan Post cowboy boots from my grandfather, a bolo tie that my other grandfather wore. These are all symbols, to me, of the prairie. Coming to California and being by the Pacific Ocean, when I would get lonesome, which would happen every now and again, I would go out to the beach and look out at the ocean, and pretend it was just the prairie land of North Dakota." His new album is called "Perfect Abandon." Brosseau is in Minnesota for two performances and came by MPR studios to talk with MPR News' Euan Kerr about storytelling and music - and play a few tunes.