As almost any up-and-coming band in Athens will tell you, an opening slot at the Georgia Theatre is nothing to scoff at. For folk-infused local band Family and Friends, warming up a crowd for Athens mainstays Packway Handle Band is proof that you can go a long way in a little amount of time in this town. Although the band has only been playing as a full unit since late April, it’s begun to generate quite a bit of buzz around town, squeezing in quite a few shows this summer and laying the groundwork for a record to be released sometime in the near future.
While certain bands in Athens may be hesitant to embrace the “indie-folk-rock” label that has stuck to Family and Friends, F&F songwriters “Tuna” Fortuna and Mike MacDonald aren’t worried about being reviled by those folkies with refined tastes who scoff at mega-acts like Mumford & Sons. “I enjoy it,” says Fortuna, who also notes that his band’s “two drummers thing” defies the expectations associated with the genre enough to keep the crowd guessing.
Although F&F’s show tonight at the Georgia Theatre and a Halloween show at Green Room are the only live performances that the band currently has scheduled, that doesn’t mean it won’t be staying busy. An EP is in the works, and all of the legwork will “definitely be finished by the end of October,” according to the band, which also hints at something of a live hiatus while the band goes into a local studio to record. You’re best served catching these freaky folkies now before they go away for a little while.
Family and Friends plays the Georgia Theatre tonight, Thursday, Sept. 12. Wanna win a pair of tickets? Comment below with why you deserve to go for free. We’ll choose a winner at 4:30 p.m.
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