His voice is a little honey and bourbon, and a little weary traveler made wiser by his adventures. Listening to Gabriel Harley sing is like meeting a storyteller seemingly by chance but seeing a mischievous glint in his eye as his tale begins.

Harley got his start in music early: “My family was always musical. Some of my first memories are being on the floor in the living room with our thick blue carpet, looking up as Mom and Dad recorded songs with their guitars and RadioShack microphones.” The duo sang songs from groups like Peter, Paul and Mary and The Beatles and even made cassettes they handed out to their friends. Harley notes that “there was always music being made around the house.”

In addition to his parents, Harley’s musical influences have included James Taylor, Jim Croce, and Cat Stevens. As he got older, his interests grew to include jazz and rock, which led to influence from musicians like Sting, Peter Gabriel, and Billy Joel. “I always liked musicians whose lyrics were as interesting as their music,” Harley explains.

One of Harley’s first introductions to guitar was seeing Michael J. Fox as Marty McFly in Back to the Future: “I wanted to play [Chuck Berry’s] ‘Johnny B. Goode’ as well as Marty did.” Harley says he picked up a guitar and “lasted about three months” before he gave up. Shortly after, when Harley was in fourth or fifth grade, he wanted to join the school band and decided on the trumpet: “It only had three buttons; how hard could that be?” he joked. The multi-instrumentalist quickly learned how to play the brassy horn and didn’t pick guitar back up until the end of high school.

Harley participated in “anything musical he could do” until he graduated from high school, which included membership in the New World Chamber Orchestra (now the New World Youth Symphony Orchestra). Participants came from all over Indiana and, Harley explains, “There was a high bar for auditions” with the prestigious group. Orchestra members were mentored by music professionals and performed at luxurious venues including the Hilbert Circle Theatre.

After high school, Harley headed to Indiana University Bloomington, where he studied Recording Arts with an emphasis on classical music. His evolution into professional musician continued moving forward naturally: “I knew a little about writing songs and started learning more about it and it all just kind of snowballed from there.” In addition to performing, he has operated his own recording studio since the mid-1990s and is the co-owner, chief engineer, and producer at Chapter 1 Recording in Greenfield, IN.

Harley’s most recent recording is “Beat of a Broken Heart,” released in 2023. Special standouts include “Night of Good Mirth,” which evokes the feeling of belly-warming drinks in a medieval pub, and the spritely “Long Day’s End,” which brings to mind beach parties and falling in love. Earlier albums, including “Halfway Home” and “Ghost of Better Days,” are also available to stream. Harley also makes time for writing outside of music, mentioning fiction as an ongoing creative pursuit.

For more information about Gabriel Harley and to hear samples of his work, visit his website. He and his band will perform on Wednesday, June 17 at Lions Club Park (11053 Sycamore Street, Zionsville) from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm as part of the Zionsville Cultural District Summer Concert Series. The set list includes Harley’s original songs as well as covers by artists like Bill Withers and Cat Stevens. Visit the ZCD website for further details about the summer concert series and to register for free tickets to see The Gabriel Harley Band.