Acoustic musician Adam Torres will return to southeast Ohio on Saturday for an intimate performance at Stuart’s Opera House in Nelsonville.
Torres, who got his start in music while he was a student at Ohio University, said he is glad to be coming back to Ohio.
“I’m really excited to be back and see friends and places that mean a lot to me,” Torres said. “Athens was … the place that I learned how to be a musician.”
According to Brian Koscho, the marketing director at Stuart’s Opera House, Torres has played in Nelsonville several times before, including at the Nelsonville Music Festival and as an opener at Stuart’s.
Koscho said Stuart’s is expecting a good crowd for what he called a “homecoming.”
“I think a lot of folks are excited,” he said.
The performance will be what Stuart’s calls a “backstage show,” where the audience sits on stage with the artist.
“It’s perfect for someone like Adam,” Koscho said.
Torres’ music draws heavily on folk traditions and is influenced by folk pioneers, such as Tim Buckley, Robbie Basho and Fred Neil. However, Torres does not think of his music as folk.
“I can understand why it would be described that way, just listening to the musical arrangements,” he said. “But I don’t really go around saying I’m a folk artist.”
Torres said labelling his music as folk does not bother him, but he prefers to think of it differently.
“It’s a quieter, atmospheric sound,” he said.
That ethereal sound is clear on Torres’ most recent album, Pearls to Swine, which was released in September. Pearls to Swine is Torres’ first full-length release since 2006’s Nostra Nova. Nostra Nova was released while Torres’ attended OU, and has since been called a “cult classic” by Pitchfork and The A.V. Club.
Pearls to Swine picks up where Nostra Nova left off ten years ago. Although Torres and his backing band provide what he calls “unique styles,” the album’s true focus is Torres’ incredible voice, which is both beautiful and haunting.
In addition to its style and merit, Pearls to Swine is also pure and authentic — Torres said the album was recorded in a single week in January.
“Everything was done live, and it felt like a time capsule, instead of something that we were meticulously and painstakingly working on for months,” he said. “It’s kind of like a snapshot.”
Torres said Pearls to Swine is the result of various experiences and explorations.
“I think this record’s a result of a long process of getting lost on the metaphorical road of life and somehow coming home to a place that’s familiar,” he said.
Adam Remnant will open for Torres. Remnant is coming off the release of his debut solo EP, When I Was a Boy. Remnant and Torres played together in local folk-rock band Southeast Engine for several years.
“We’ve been close for so many years,” Torres said of Remnant.
Torres called Stuart’s “special,” and expressed his pleasure at returning to Ohio.
“I’m excited for the show,” he said.
