Recording artist Joshua Radin announces summer tour

— -- Recording artist Joshua Radin has announced he will go on tour this summer, which kicks off July 7 in Nashville. The tour will stop in more than a dozen cities throughout the country. Rachael Yamagata and Brandon Jenner will join Radin on tour.

Here are five things to know about the singer and songwriter.

He Didn’t Start Writing Music Until He Was 30

Unlike many artists who start writing music when they are younger, Radin didn’t become a songwriter until he was an adult.

“I think when I started writing songs I was just about 30 and I was an adult already so when it came to expressing myself I was maybe more a little adept than if I had been writing songs since I was 13 or 14 [years old],” he said, adding that he always knew he wanted to live a creative life but initially didn’t consider music as an option.

He Writes the Music Before the Lyrics

When it comes to songwriting, Radin says he lives by an old quote, “To write a good song, you just need three chords and a truth.”

“I didn’t really know how to [get started],” he said. He ended up playing chords on the guitar first, before crafting the lyrics -- a method he still sticks to today. “Most of the stuff I think about is personal, communication between people ... I write about how I get along with people.”

You’ve Probably Heard His Music, Even If You Haven’t Heard His Name

If you aren’t familiar with Radin by name, chances are you’ve probably heard his music: His songs have been featured in dozens of movies, commercials and TV shows like "Dear John," "So You Think You Can Dance," "Grey’s Anatomy," "One Tree Hill," and "The Bachelorette."

Radin says he doesn’t write music with the intention of having it incorporated into TV shows and movies. “At first when I was writing the songs, I didn’t think anyone was going to hear them but my girlfriend at the time,” he said with a laugh.

He still remembers when his first song, "Winter," was featured on a show. “I sent the demo to someone that created a TV show and he called like three weeks later. ... It was the third season of the show called 'Scrubs.'”

Before Singing, He Was a Screenwriter and Painter

“I did the starving artist thing for a long, long time, it just happened to be with a different media. Whether it was a computer or paint brush, I was still broke,” he said.

Radin spent several years screenwriting and ended up picking up a guitar as a way to help him through the writing process. “In between scenes if I was thinking of something a character was going to say and I was driving myself crazy, I would pick up the guitar,” he said.

He admits he sort of fell into music. “This was sort of the first thing I tried to do creatively where the audience kind of came to me. Everything else I had tried, I was seeking an audience.” He believes being a screenwriter first helped him become a better singer. “I think when I write songs so many people have used them and connect them with visual media because I think visually when I’m writing them.”

Tickets for His Tour Go on Sale This Week

Tickets for the Sirus XM's The Coffee House Live tour go on sale Friday, May 5th. For a complete list of tour dates or more information visit joshuaradin.com.