Minneapolis songwriter Ondara follows up Grammy-nominated debut with 'Spanish Villager'

MINNEAPOLIS — When COVID-19 first hit, J.S. Ondara became one of the first songwriters in America to react with songs about living in lockdown.

The resulting raw album, "Folk n' Roll: Tales of Isolation, Vol. 1," arrived just two months into the 2020 pandemic and quickly added to the buzz that earned the Kenya native a Grammy nomination a year earlier off his debut record.

So it's extra surprising that the Minneapolis troubadour is now having a hard time getting going on his first post-quarantine album and tour.