You can sit in Bay Bridge traffic, burning fuel at four bucks a gallon, to chill on the beach. Or you can soak up the same warm, mellow groove in South Silver Spring with Matt de Nesnera.

The NoVa singer/songwriter unfolds his acoustic sound like a beach blanket, and its warmth gives listeners that bronze glow without the tan lines. The only things missing from his music are the screeching seagulls and rolling surf. Otherwise, de Nesnera’s tunes feel and sound like a day at the shore.

In “Paradise”, de Nesnera sparks an evening bonfire on the beach with Donavon Frankenreiter-esque vocals (think Jack Johnson with a higher pitch). Break open a cold one, roast some dogs on the fire, and chill to the sound.

“Water in the Sun” has a brighter, pluckier sound that works for the requisite game of beach volleyball, while “Sounds and Lights” makes even a passing rain storm fun. Incidentally, de Nesnera’s music is good for barbecues, too.

De Nesnera was scheduled to play at the Mayorga Coffee Factory (8040 Georgia Ave) this evening, but the gig has been postponed. In the meantime, download some smooth joints from his MySpace and PureVolume pages. The downloads are free — and legal.

Lead photo: Singer/songwriter Matt de Nesnera performed at the 2008 South Silver Spring Block Party in June. Credit: J. Deseo/SSP.

Embedded images courtesy of Flickr users Lake Wentworth, Str33tcelica, Grabowski, SpecialEd98 and TerenceKearns.

Updated Jul 11, 2008, at 3:00 p.m.