Eric Ian Farmer

I again had the joy of witnessing singer and songwriter Eric Ian Farmer during one of his weekly Thursday appearances last month at the Tavern’s Adam’s Apple in State College. Playing ukulele, Mary Ann Cleary opened the evening with a variety of favorites, joined later on by brother Brian Cleary on acoustic guitar. Eric then worked his musical magic with the audience, delivering a soaring, spiritual, passionate and uplifting performance. He felt the music from the get-go, and captivated the audience with his blend of cadence, dynamics, finesse and heartfelt emotion. Eric demonstrated his dynamic range from inspired and soulful singing and vocalizing to pristine silence, holding the audience in total attention throughout. He opened with Fleetwood Mac’s “Landslide,” and had the audience hanging on every note, clear until his final note trailed off, before they then began their applause. After Eric sang an original number inspired by a past girlfriend, Mary Ann and Brian joined him for the rest of the performance. One of the big highlights was their version of Don Henley’s “Heart of the Matter,” as Eric rode this number toward a rousing homestretch where he emphasized the word “forgiveness” and made it the hopeful theme of the song itself. That is perhaps the enduring attribute of Eric Ian Farmer’s performances; that he emphasizes hope and positivity, and audiences leave his shows in a better frame of mind than when they first arrived. - PA Musician Magazine - Jim Price

Eric Ian Farmer was one of the many musicians to play at the Allen Street Stage during this year’s Arts Festival. He performed from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 14.

Farmer’s set drew a large crowd, not only in the seating area in front of the stage, but lining the sidewalks off to the sides as well. In addition to some original songs, Farmer did a cover of “Lean on Me,” originally written and recorded by Bill Withers, and a modified cover that he described as a “remix” of Otis Redding’s “That’s How Strong My Love Is.”

For most of Farmer’s set, most audience members remained seated or simply standing. Nearing the end of his set, he encouraged audience members to move around and dance, and to share any love they felt coming from the stage with the people around them. A number of people were dancing along by the time he closed his performance.

Farmer is a local musician in State College, whose songs are described on his website as being about “relationships, social awareness, and finding one’s path in life.”

We asked several attendees how they felt about Farmer’s Arts Fest performance.

“I thought the show was incredible.” said Tity Kpandeyenge, a member of the State College community. “Eric Ian Farmer sings with so much passion throughout the entire performance, and it was incredible. He gets the crowd involved, his music has a lot of meaning to the words, and it’s really powerful. Like, his words impact me. So I thought it was incredible.”

“I think that Eric Ian Farmer is an incredible performer.” said Jalelah Ahmed, who was “born and raised” in State College. “I know he’s going to continue to contribute to happiness, love, and joy, and unification of people in this world, because he loves music so much, and that’s the way he spreads love. I thought the performance was fabulous.”

“I think that Eric Farmer is a great, great addition to the local artists.” said Emile Rochon, who moved to State College during high school, graduated from State High, and attended Penn State for his undergraduate degree. “He has quite a bit of flavor, and passion, and the music is just wonderful. And I love the outdoor atmosphere, and the community, so it’s really been a great time.” - The Underground - Andrew Mickle

When he returned to Bucknell University for the first time in 15 months, Eric Ian Farmer came with a powerful message during his free President’s Day concert on Monday afternoon.

“The plan for the show is to begin and end with forgiveness with a lot of love in between,” Farmer said ahead of his set at the Weis Center. “My hope is to get out the message that it’s OK to embrace the gifts you’ve been given. It’s OK to be vulnerable. It’s OK to learn about the gifts of various peoples.”

Farmer, who first played at Bucknell in late 2018, returned with the music he first learned in church and has expanded as he’s grown older.

“The first live music I heard was in church and it was infectious,” he said. “It was the most uplifting music I’ve heard. I’m not here to create church music, but to create music that lifts people up in the same kind of way.”

Dodd and Danalynn Ashe made the trip to Lewisburg from Pillow to listen to the free show. It was their second trip to the Weis Center in recent days. They attended Thursday’s show that included performers from West Africa. 

Allen Stevenson brought his 17-year-old daughter, Olivia, to the show on her day off from school. The performance presented another opportunity for the father and daughter to share their love of music.

“It’s nice to get out with my dad and listen to music together,” Olivia Stevenson said. “I enjoy listening to music with him; sometimes his is pretty loud.”

“I wanted to hear his music, he was someone I’ve never heard of until last week,” said Allen Stevenson. “This is something new for us.”

The Ashes, musicians and music producers themselves, were able to listen to a kind of music not often played in the Valley.

“We like to support fellow musicians and this is a good opportunity to hear something we haven’t heard in a while,” said Danalynn. 

“Being Black History Month, there are a lot of artists we wouldn’t see on a normal basis,” Dodd said. “It’s not too far, it’s convenient. And it’s free.”

Farmer’s eclectic mix caught Dodd’s ear.

“It’s like another language,” he said. “It’s different time signatures, it’s not all 4/4, there is some 6/8 and 6/4. You get to see people uncomfortable at first and then become acclimated to it. We are going to be educated about the language of music.” - The Daily Item - Robert Inglis