As the University's official venue, John Paul Jones Arena typically boasts the biggest acts coming to Charlottesville. Between fishnet-clad girls teetering in stilettos on their way to Lady Gaga and die-hard Dave Matthews Band fans decked out in DMB merchandise from head to toe, JPJ is considered the musical center of Charlottesville. This JPJ-centric view of the universe, however, fails to take into account the plethora of bands playing at downtown venues. These venues, though unequipped for Phish-style light shows, showcase raw talent and offer a cheaper option for anyone willing to ditch the fanfare and simply appreciate good music. Yarn, an Americana band from Manhattan, will play at The Southern tomorrow. With the band's intriguing alternative-country style, a concert like this is perfect for anyone who wants to delve deeper into Charlottesville's music scene.
Although lead singer Blake Christiana's voice fills Yarn's tracks with a country twang, the band came together in New York, where Christiana grew up.
"I guess it was just growing up as a kid listening to the old country that my father would play that influenced me," Christiana said. "We would sit around a camp fire playing tunes - Willie Nelson and Elvis Presley - and coming off that I built my own musical taste."
Inspired by these early experiences, Christiana formed Yarn in 2007. Since then, the critically acclaimed Americana band has put out three albums and frequently has visited Charlottesville when touring.
"We've been playing in Charlottesville for a while, and we have played pretty much every place [the city has]," Christiana said. "Our friend who is a promoter helped us get our start here, and he would bring us back with whatever new venue he was working with."
Friday's concert will take place at The Southern, Christiana's favorite downtown venue.
"The Gravity Lounge was our favorite club, so when [a promoter] reopened it as The Southern, we were super psyched," he said.
Part of the reason Christiana enjoys Charlottesville so much is because "it seems like Charlottesville is less inhibited. Maybe it has to do with [The Southern]: it's a dark, open space with no seating, and everyone kind of dances and falls into the groove."
Because it often plays smaller venues in towns like Charlottesville, Christiana said the band connects with fans on a more intimate level than big-name headliners.
"My favorite thing is that we've got families now in each town; [we are] creating those relationships where fans become new friends," Christiana said. "Thanksgiving we were on the road, and friends that were initially fans were on vacation in Disney World, but they left us a key, and we stayed at their house for three days over Thanksgiving. We were just a regular old happy little family."
When recording in Nashville, Yarn works on the band's fourth album. For this project, Christiana had the opportunity to write with John Oates of iconic '70s rock band Hall & Oates.
"[Writing with Oates] was pretty surreal," Christiana said. "We come from two different backgrounds musically, I would say, but we really got along well. He is a super nice guy, and he's just really into the craft of songwriting, which made it an amazing experience for sure."
One of Christiana's long-term goals is to play Austin City Limits on PBS.
"Austin City Limits is like a right of passage, and it feels closer than it ever has," Christiana said. "Or I'd want to get high with Willie Nelson on his tour bus. Yeah, that'd be cool too"
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