Best Acoustic Covers - September 2026
With September, we are finally back to our usual standards with at least five acoustic covers to talk about, including one new face making his debut on the blog!
Sex On Fire - The Franklin Electric, Emily Rowed
Let’s start with one of my personal favorites: The Franklin Electric. Just like he did with Harvest Moon, Jon teamed up with another artist, this time Emily Rowed, for a beautiful cover of Kings of Leon’s Sex on Fire. Another similarity is the use of intertwining fingerpicked guitars, which work so well that you barely miss the iconic electric guitar riff of the original. Jon rarely gets it wrong.
Tom River - let it be
Next up is his friend Tom River, one half of Salt Tree, who seems to be on a bit of an acoustic covers streak lately. This time he gives us a feel good acoustic version of The Beatles’ Let It Be, perfectly suited to his uptempo coastal folk sound.
Hearts and Bones - Andrea von Kampen
Our third cover is Hearts and Bones by Paul Simon, performed by Andrea von Kampen, who seems determined to pick the most complicated fingerstyle songs from her favorite artists! She even sticks to fingerstyle in the sections where Paul Simon switches to strumming in the original. And honestly, I’m with her on this one. When you’re that good at fingerpicking, why stop?
Take Me Out - Dirk
Now it’s time for our new face: Dirk, with his version of Franz Ferdinand’s Take Me Out, taken from his latest EP Songs From My iPod, Vol. 1. It takes some imagination to hear a song like this and think, “this would work with just acoustic guitar and vocals”, which is exactly why I recommend giving it a listen. And while you’re at it, check out his Instagram for more covers!
Hot N Cold - trolly
We finish with the usual suspect, trolly, and his cover of Katy Perry’s Hot N Cold. It’s crazy to think that this song and Sex on Fire both came out in 2008 considering how different they sound. As for trolly’s version, I don’t think I even need to explain the formula anymore. You already know what to expect!
That’s it for September. Five covers, plenty of familiar faces and one new artist to add to your radar. As always, let me know which one is your favorite!