Local musician Tad Armstrong will be the featured artist and open Gibbs’ ?concert.
The show is the third of the season’s series, and Gibbs is an Americana, folk and outlaw country singer/songwriter whose roots are about an hour up the road from Bloomington in Wanamaker, Ind.
Gibbs’ childhood and hometown have served as an inspiration for his music, particularly in his latest album, entitled “Souvenirs of a Misspent Youth,” released last year.
Aside from his Indiana hometown, the artist incorporates themes from his travels and family members, particularly his father.
Gibbs explains on his website that his father was his main source of encouragement in terms of creativity throughout his youth, and the title of his 2014 album was named in honor of his father’s past.
With a firm belief that “there are only two people in art who matter, the creative individual and the person experiencing it,” Gibbs said on his website that performing is all about being casual and not overthinking when it comes to ?preparation.
“In all honesty, I don’t think about it too much because I’m just doing what comes natural,” he said.
The artist also puts a strong emphasis on connecting with audiences not only through his music, but through his stories.
“I tell a lot of stories,” he said. “That’s a big part of the show, and people seem to enjoy it. It breaks down a lot of walls between the audience and the singer.”
Gibbs said it feels good to return to Indiana, since the state is a strong source of inspiration for his music.
He mentioned that once during his time overseas, he shared the film “Breaking Away” to give those who were foreign to the idea of small-town Indiana a look into his past and what made him who he is today.
“I like to tell a lot of stories about growing up in Indiana, and so I might lean a little heavier on those since people will get a lot of the local references,” he said. “I think people get to know an artist when they’re telling stories on stage. Everybody likes to laugh and hear about travels or the road.”
Along with his music, Gibbs also pioneered the idea for an original podcast called “Thanks For Giving A Damn.”
During the podcast, which was started a little more than two years ago, Gibbs interviews friends about their road stories and shares pieces of music ?history.
The podcasts originally came out every Wednesday, but Gibbs has recently switched to producing them every two weeks.
“It’s gotten much more popular than I ever thought it would,” he said. “It’s just something that I wanted to be able to do to speak directly to the people who enjoy my music and not rely on the press to get whatever out to them.”
General admission tickets are available at the door for $10. Doors open at 6 p.m.
