Bloomington band UpFolk performs music ranging from compositions inspired by medieval Irish sea shanties to rap, Venue Fine Art & Gifts owner David Colman said.
UpFolk will play at the Venue at 5:30 p.m. today in the Venue. Admission is free.
UpFolk features musicians Travis Puntarelli, Aaron Comforty and Marc Haggerty.
Singer-songwriter Puntarelli is the center of the group, Colman said.
“His range is remarkable,” Colman said. “His talent is remarkable.”
Haggerty said he sings and plays many instruments in the band, including guitar, mandolin and banjo.
Puntarelli is a talented, supportive and reliable musician, Haggerty said.
“Travis is a phenomenon,” Haggerty said. “He’s not like anything you’ve ever seen before.”
In addition to performing and writing for UpFolk, Puntarelli has also composed operas and musicals, Haggerty said. He composed music for the production “A Show of Hats: An Evening of Music & Storytelling,” which sold out at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater last year, he said.
UpFolk toured the northwest coast and Canada last year, Haggerty said, and the band did not use any electric instruments or sound systems during its tour.
Today’s performance is for Bloomington Unplugged, which features local acoustic musicians on the first Tuesday of every month at the Venue, Colman said.
The Venue began the performance series to give musicians a different type of environment, Colman said.
“They were tired of playing at bars where people talked over their music,” Colman said.
This will be the first time UpFolk will perform at Bloomington Unplugged, but they have performed at the Venue in the past, Haggerty said.
“It’s a local place,” Haggerty said. “We’re very into a local ideal. We try to be connected with the audience and the people we meet.”
UpFolk uses humor to connect with the audience, Haggerty said, and they were once referred to as a comedy act at a performance in San Francisco.
Haggerty said he took the description as a compliment.
“Everyone in the act has a sense of humor,” Haggerty said. “Travis is hilarious. He involves the audience so much that people end up laughing and having fun.”
Audience members will meet people at the UpFolk performance who will permanently affect them, Haggerty said.
“You’ll feel kind of heartwarmed,” Haggerty said. “We’re all part of an extended family. It has to do with the way that we do music on an intimate level.”
