Saturday, October 10, 7:30PM
Nevada Theatre, Nevada City, CA
$35 premium reserved seating
$25 general admission
JUSTIN FARREN
WINNER of the Kerville New Folk Competition 2016
WINNER of the Wildflower Arts & Music Festival People’s Choice 2016
“I was thrilled to hear Justin Farren at a folk music conference a couple years ago. He is an incredibly original artist with a lot of verve and energy, and a terrific guitarist. He will absolutely charm you with the strange humor and cleverness of his lyrics.” – Rich Warren, Folk Stage Chicago
Justin Farren was raised on the outskirts of Sacramento. Riding bikes up dirt hills with his brother and the neighbor kids. He was always a person of intense focus.
The story goes that he learned to read at three, and ride a motorized dirt bike at four. But legends are common in his family, from grand larcenist to circus perfomer ancestors and a solo pilot grandma.
Justin was the lead shot putter at his school, and had a perfect basketball shot. He loved sports, football, soccer, basketball, and hoped to play professionally one day.
Then, there was a bend in the road when his brother decided they should start a band. Justin got a bass and his brother a guitar. They bought a book of basic chords, and Justin switched lanes. His master focus shifted from sports to songs and, since then, songs have been what mattered most. He learned albums by ear from start to finish, it was the real beginning of ‘doing it yourself’ for what became a do it yourself man.
At 15, he bought Yellow, the truck of his life. He rebuilt the engine, twice. (The first time it burst into flames.) This is just one example of how he became an independent, stable person well before his peers. In truth, Justin seems to be aging in reverse, younger and younger as the years pass. He is way more likely to toilet paper a house now than he ever was as a kid.
Justin wanted to record albums, so he became a recording engineer. Justin wanted his own house, so he built it from the ground up. Justin wanted to work for himself, so he took his house building knowledge and became a handyman extraordinaire. Really, he’s like what many of us may think of our grandparents: Intense, hardworking, autonomous, highly skilled in their pursuits.
Which leads us back to songwriting. He looks at a song in a multidimensional way, but the end result is enchanting, and feels effortless. Justin plays a cheap guitar, but is often asked about its tone.
Justin lives a humble life in small house in the most working class part of town. Still driving old Yellow, and wearing mostly previously owned clothes. He lives abundantly, he eats real food, and plays music with his favorite people.
PETER WILSON & PAUL EMERY
Paul Emery is the creator of the Leonard Cohen review 1000 Kisses Deep. He’s a founding member of Backwoods Jazz and the Greater Carmichael Street Band and is a longstanding member of the Funtrain Minstrels duo. Emery is well known for his decades of work as community radio KVMR’s news director and as a music scholar sharing music history as a DJ on his longtime radio show.
Peter Wilson is an award winning singer/songwriter/guitarist with numerous recordings to his credit. He and his songwriting cohorts, Mountain John Hilligoss and Moe Dixon, have written scores of songs, toured, and released a studio CD. At home in Grass Valley, California Wilson has hosted radio variety shows and open mic nights.