Musician searches for ‘greater vulnerability’
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A variety of sounds from soul-folk to rock and jazz will be able to be heard by audiences on July 16 at the Community Arts Center from State College musician Eric Ian Farmer and other Central Pennsylvania artists: Ady Martinez on vocals and percussion, Andrew Jackson on percussion, Eli Byrne on saxophone and flute, Elizabeth Webb on vocals, Josh Troup on drums and Mickey Klein on electric bass.
The performance will not only have music selections in English but also Spanish, with Martinez as lead vocalist for songs in Spanish.
The show will take place at 7:30 p.m. at the CAC and it will be Farmer's first time performing there.
"I am definitely excited to be at the Community Arts Center," he said.
He added that some of the material covered in the lyrics include family and relationships, themes of love as well as racial issues that have been going on in the world.
"A lot of it feels like rock and roll, some have labeled it as soul-folk, some have called it jazz," Farmer said.
He and his collaborators will also be doing some original work as well as "interpretations of other artists' work."
"I feel like they (the collaborators) push me to do things I couldn't do when I was solo…they help me find points of my voice that I couldn't locate otherwise," Farmer said. "Along with the audience, it co-creates a deeper emotional space, and that is what I am hoping for all of us--is greater vulnerability."
He added that the show is created for all ages and can hopefully start dialogue about certain topics outside of the performance.
Farmer was born in State College and raised in North Carolina. He returned to the state in 2009 and pursued a doctorate from Penn State University. He had a strong interest in music for a long time, experimenting with music groups in California as well.
"Coming back here, it has been on another level of opportunities to share music … it has grown exponentially. It is amazing," he said.
For more information on tickets, please visit the CAC's website. For more information on Farmer, please visit: https://vocallygrown.com/.