But having such classic taste can have its drawbacks, Bridges says.
Black radio won't play him in the United States, for one thing.
"That is how it goes, man. They are going to play top 40 or whatever rap music and you would think they would champion a young black man doing soul music but that's not the case."
As well, his audience is predominantly white: "Yeah, with this kind of music people are going to hear about it first are guys who really know about the indie blogs and stuff and keep up with that. For some black people, it has to be in their face."
If there's one thing Bridges isn't, it's in your face. His songs are simple and wholesome - album track Lisa Sawyer is about his mother, a guiding influence in his life and music.
"When I first wrote that song I had the chord progression and I couldn't think of lyrics ... so I thought it made sense to write a song about my mother. So that is how that song was born. It started from the fact that my mother is from New Orleans and I thought that would make for a perfect song. The whole song is true from top to bottom."
Raised in Forth Worth, Texas - and in the church as well - Bridges started considering music as a career in his early 20s. "When I first started writing songs it was nothing but gospel music. It was a big step for me to write Coming Home, and my friends who were in the church I thought they wouldn't accept that. So that was a jump for me.
"But I just felt that within black and R&B music there wasn't enough people writing simple songs that anyone can understand or relate to."
Yes, he listened to modern R&B and hip-hop too. And it was an influence in its own way.
"A lot of my my songwriting was actually influenced by hip-hop in the beginning - I loved the phrasing and the storytelling."
But eventually, Bridges found his own voice. One that crooned rather than shouted. "That is where my voice is. I think of myself as a songwriter first and foremost - a songwriter who writes soul music."
The path to Coming Home started when members of Austin band White Denim, catching an early Bridges solo show, suggested he record in their studio powered by vintage equipment. A couple of demos lit up Soundcloud. Record labels came calling.
Bridges signed to Columbia and Coming Home was released to wide acclaim in June this year.
And with that came a queue of journalists invoking the name "Sam Cooke" when it came to discussing his sound and style.
"Yeah it's funny, when I was a kid I knew about soul music. My father had introduced me to Sam Cooke - my father would always keep me informed about black history - so I loved soul music.
"I also loved the pictures of black men back in the 50s looking so put together and clean in suits on a regular day. I loved that as a kid. It wasn't until later on in life, when I got into R&B when I was 20, 21, I really started getting back into it.
"When people asked 'is Sam Cooke your inspiration?' I felt bad because I couldn't name a song. So I really went and got into him and some other artists. I really started to fall in love with it."
So, does Bridges feel he was born 50 years too late?
"It would be cool to go back in time. I just loved that - black men together making soul music. You don't see that any more and so it's great I am in 2015 because if I was a soul musician back in 1960, I would be just another soul musician. Now that I can be in 2015 and remind people of the past. I am not doing anything new."
