Okay, I haven't been in the mix for some time now, but I understand exactly what you mean about the "mystical" connection some performers have with an audience.

However, in storytelling the "magic" is more a learned skill than a "gift". A good storyteller has a connection that he/she maintains in a tale. It is sparked by the words, the sounds themselves that connect with the audience on a level just short of consious. Many of us respond to sounds, (and colors, and shapes,) in emotional ways. All you need to do is watch one of those really effective hollywood films to see the trick in action on several levels at once.

I teach storytelling to some private students in the off season. The skill is based on finding the sounds and the phrases that spark that connection, and then monitoring your audience. Another skill is to identify those points that work on yourself as well. If you are affected by the tale, your audience will be as well. One of my students did very poorly on something he had unearthed and polished, but did fantastic on a piece written by Kipling, (his favorite author.) It was his own "connection" with the tale that made him connect with his audience.

Perhaps, it is the song that connects and not the singer. Or rather the connection the song has to the singer that makes it so magical to an audience.

Then again, it could just be the beer...

Mikal