Local musicians, Graham Farrow and Friends to perform at The Center for the Arts

The Center for the Arts is pleased to present Graham Farrow & Friends in the Marisa Funk Theater on August 25, 2023. 

Graham Farrow Knibb brings his Americana, country-rock sound to The Center stage, coupling great musicians and greater friends. Joined by fellow songwriters Aaron Ross and Blake Severn, this will be a spin on the songwriter showcase. As well as playing solo and with each other, all three songwriters at one time or another will be joined by a stellar backing band of Zach Peach, Barry Anderson, and Hunter Jones playing various instruments throughout the evening. 

For five years Graham Farrow Knibb has honed his songwriting and showmanship with the assistance of the family-style band, Farrow and the Peach Leaves, which has toured the span of the West Coast, and has been fortunate enough to play in front of crowds at Offbeat Fest, Freakout Fest, and California Worldfest, sharing bills along the way with the likes of Margo Cilker, Bart Budwig and Howlin’ Rain. These days Knibb is attempting a lighter approach with fewer moving parts. His solo departure marks a turn towards a richer, more introspective songwriting style (think: somewhere between John Prine and Charlie Parr). Expect an EP from Dream Cabin Sounds in the Fall of 2023.    

Aaron Ross has been writing and recording music in the Sierra foothills of Northern California for more than twenty years. His songs fuse elements of classic American folk, blues, and rock-n-roll with an appetite for eclecticism and a dose of absurdist glee to create a sound that is at once spectrally familiar and relentlessly innovative, both rooted in tradition and bracingly original. 

Blake Severn has been writing and performing music in Nevada County for over a decade. He has remained mostly genre-less, but seemingly has his roots simultaneously tapped into country, punk and psychedelic guitar romps. Severn has seemingly perfected simple, ear-worm melodies and lyrics that prop up a perfect launch pad for his soaring guitar work. In more recent years he has formed a band with Barry Anderson called No Healer, who are set to release a full-length album later in the year.

Barry Anderson plays many instruments, and August 25th will be no different. From bass, tele, pedal steel and baritone guitars, Barry brings his grit and expertise to this outfit. He will be the busiest bee by far.

Hunter Jones has been a multi-instrumentalist starting with Farrow and the Peach Leaves back in 2018. He began with keyboards and introduced lap steel, but eventually settled on keys and pedal steel by 2022. We hope Hunter doesn’t spin out of his stool.

Zach Peach plays drums. He’s good. He’s played with This is Radiation, El Dorado, Ghost Pines, Pinnacles, The Beautiful Dudes, Farrow and the Peach Leaves, Aaron Ross and Oh, Lonesome Ana to name a few. Maybe he will try a little mandolin, but it sure is hard to get him to drop his sticks.

This show will have it all; drums, bass, guitars, keys, pedal steel, and even a special guest or two! All three songwriters are pulling material from past and present, this is a night not to be missed at The Center for the Arts on August 25, 2023. 

Since 2000, The Center for the Arts, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit arts organization, has grown into a leading presenter of music, dance, theater, comedy, literary and visual art, and family programming, offering more than 150 events per year from its location in downtown Grass Valley. The Center recently completed a major renovation of its multiuse, 21,000-square-foot facility in downtown Grass Valley, making it a premier performing arts destination. The venue includes the Main Stage, which accommodates up to 492 guests in configurable theater seats and up to 700 patrons for dance shows, and a 90-seat studio theater.