Attendees of tonight's concert at Schlow Centre Region Library will be offered a little bit more than music.
Nathaniel Rasmussen, vice president of the Schlow Library, 211 S. Allen St., wants tonight's "Splatterfolk" concert to be "special and unique." Following that theme, concert-goers can expect a special beverage.
"We'll be serving hand-mixed chai tea to set the mood for a pleasant evening," he said.
Tonight's concert will include three performances. Two of the acts, Thinguma*Jigsaw and Noa Babayof, are from across the pond. The other act, Sharon Van Etten, is from Brooklyn.
The performance begins at 7 tonight in the library's community room.
Because the concert is following the 42nd annual Central Pennsylvania Festival of the Arts, Rasmussen expects about 50 to 60 people to check out the show.
"We put on about 10 shows per year. We focus on avant-garde and often folk-like music," Rasmussen said. "We want each show to be special and unique. It's spacey and psychedelic."
Thinguma*Jigsaw is a Norwegian band that incorporates banjos and even saws into some of its music.
Singer/songwriter Noa Babayof will also perform. Originally from Israel, Babayof currently lives in Philadelphia.
With her folk-like acoustic music, she has a sound similar to Joan Baez, Rasmussen said.
Her debut album, From a Window to a Wall, was released in June of this year. Rasmussen thinks Babayof will bring in the majority of the crowd.
Van Etten, who performs on the same record label as Babayof -- Language of Stone Records -- will round out the evening. Van Etten plays her own brand of American folk on guitar.
This is Van Etten's first tour with Babayof, and she is helping promote Babayof's new record, Van Etten said.
"I'm looking forward to meeting new people and playing for people I've never played for before," Van Etten said.
She added she has been touring with Babayof since the Fourth of July weekend and will continue to tour until July 19. The tour will continue to the Washington, D.C. area and Baltimore.
Admission to the show is free, but the library would appreciate a $5 donation to benefit the bands, Rasmussen said.
Free parking for the performance is also available in the library ground parking lot.
Rasmussen added the library staff asks concert-goers to not use the parking garage for Monday evening's performance.
