Come listen to the indie-folk band, The Infamous Flapjack Affair, at The Blu Pig on Tuesday, Sept. 13, and you’ll also see part of a documentary film shoot about the transformative nature of national parks.
“Confluence,” a journey through national parks in the Colorado River Basin, is a collaboration between the band and a Boulder, Colorado-based film company called National Parks Experience that seeks to connect youth and diverse cultures to America’s national parks.
For three weeks, The Infamous Flapjack Affair will tour national parks in the Colorado River Basin, seeking the stories of farmers and ranchers, park rangers, scientists, river runners, Native Americans, tourists and backcountry explorers with strong connections to the Colorado River.
Among other places, they will visit Grand Canyon, Arches, Canyonlands and Rocky Mountain national parks; Dinosaur National Monument; and the proposed Bears Ears National Monument.
The musicians plan to write songs from those stories, and perform them at various gateway communities along the way, such as Flagstaff, Arizona, and Moab. Footage will be shot in parks, and at concerts played along the way.
“We will capture their experience,” filmmaker and National Parks Experience co-founder Amy Marquis said.
Characters in the film will be found by “reaching out, networking and serendipity,” Marquis said.
While finishing up a film project about two young Navajo sisters at Canyon de Chelly National Monument – the second film of the NPE series – Marquis and partner Dana Romanoff learned about the band’s plan to tour the parks, and their goal of raising awareness about environmental concerns.
“I love the idea of telling a story with music in the background,” Marquis said. “It’s an amazing partnership.”
The documentary “Confluence” is scheduled for release next spring.
The band formed in Oxford, England, three years ago, where the four musicians met while attending graduate school.
“Our highest aspiration was to play at open-mic night – and then the ball got rolling,” The Infamous Flapjack Affair’s banjo and guitar player Ben Barron said.
Since then, the band – which blends influences of bluegrass, English-Irish folk and classical music – has toured the United Kingdom, the U.S. and South Africa.
“We have a diverse background to draw from which is the core of folk music,” Barron said.
The other musicians are cellist James Mitchell, who studied at a classical conservatory in Missouri; Sarah Noyce, a native of England, who grew up singing in competitive choirs and playing both Vivaldi and Irish fiddle tunes; and David Carel, who has played guitar in Led Zeppelin cover bands, and djembe drum circles.
The group will release a five-track self-titled EP on Thursday, Nov. 3.
The band was recently featured in National Geographic’s “20 under 30: The Next Generation of National Park Leaders” series.
“We’re trying to draw young people into the conversation of national parks,” Barron, 25, said. “The film is an attempt to raise the stakes of our creativity, and make music with a higher purpose.”
There is no cover to attend the concert at The Blu Pig, said owner Jake Tanner, although attendees must be 21 or older.
Indie-folk band to perform at The Blu Pig on Sept. 13 for national parks documentary
When: Tuesday, Sept. 13, at 7 p.m.
Where: The Blu Pig, 811 S. Main St.
Cost: No cover charge; 21 and over
Information: www.facebook.com/confluencejourney, or call The Blu Pig at 435-259-3333
To learn more about the band, go to flapjackfolk.com. For more information about “Confluence,” go to www.facebook.com/confluencejourney.
