Modern-folk duo Friction Farm will perform a benefit concert for Reading Seeds at the Unitarian Universalist Church of Roanoke, 2015 Grandin Rd. SW, on Friday August 17 at 7:00 pm
Friction Farm is a husband and wife team of traveling troubadours. Aidan Quinn and Christine Stay combine storytelling, social commentary and humor to create songs of everyday life, local heroes, and quirky observations. From ballads to anthems each song is filled with harmony and hope.
Friction Farm’s lyrically rich, harmony-driven songs have earned them spots as Kerrville New Folk Finalists and Falcon Ridge Emerging Artists (both pretty big deals in the world of folk and acoustic music). They are winners of the South Florida Folk Festival songwriter competition and have performed as juried showcase artists at Folk Alliance Conferences.
The duo’s latest CD, “So Many Stars” debuted at #6 on the Folk DJ Chart and was inspired by their travels across the country witnessing the collision of strong political polarity with personal kindness, the intersection of fragility and breathtaking beauty. Performing internationally and throughout the US, Friction Farm feels at home on the road and on stage. Audiences lean into their stories, laugh at their humor, and sing along once in a while.
Reading Seeds is a volunteer run non-profit that reads in classrooms and currently provides 168 new, age appropriate books to young readers in Roanoke every month. Childhood literacy is cornerstone of future success but in Roanoke, one in five kindergarteners arrives at school already behind on skills needed to learn to read.
For Friction Farm, reading has often been a creative inspiration. Aidan and Christine turned their love of reading into a musical project, discussing a book, seeing where the story would take them, and writing a song. It was fun & frustrating, invigorating & exhausting, but always interesting.
They were inspired by true tales The Voyage of the Beagle and fictional works The Cellist of Sarajevo, a recommendation from a stranger The Glass Castle. Ten books provided a catalyst for creative thought, sometimes a very direct path to a song and sometimes a very circuitous route connecting stories, real-life events, and imagination. In June they released a CD inspired by ten children’s books. So the connection to Reading Seeds was pretty obvious.
The show is suitable for adults and families. Admission is free, but donations to Reading Seeds are encouraged.
Additional information may be found at www.frictionfarm.com and at www.uuroanoke.org or by calling Reading Seeds at 540-342-8888
