Musician Mark Sexton doesn't quite know how to explain what makes soul music soulful.

"I grew up exposed to all kinds of music by my parents, but I was highly influenced by soul," Sexton said in a telephone interview. "It's difficult to describe. Soul is music you can only feel, I can't explain it. What I do know is that it's something that connects me to music."

Sexton, 24, and his band, which also includes bassist Alex Korostinsky and drummer Dan Weiss, bring their soulful funky sound to the Tri-Cities on Feb. 4 for an all-ages show at the Emerald of Siam in Richland.

Every note that comes from Sexton's jazz guitar shouts passion, and every lyric is culled from a place within his heart, Reid Foster told the Herald in an email. Foster is with Triple M Management in Phoenix and represents the band.

"Mark is the walking, talking representation of a true artist," Foster said. "It's these qualities that are making him the new West Coast breakout artist of 2013."

This is the Mark Sexton Band's first national tour after spending the past six years playing in nightclubs, coffee shops, open mics and other special occasions in their hometown of Reno, Nev.

The band will also release its second album, Young and Naive, in April, so the timing was right for a national tour, Sexton said.

The music will be from 6 to 9 p.m., and there is no cover. The Emerald of Siam is at 1314 Jadwin Ave., Richland.