At first glance, Old Salt Union might seem like a traditional string band. According to bassist and lead singer Jesse Farrar, though, there is much more to the group than that.
"We put on kind of a rock show, with many, many elements of jazz and blues and folk and alternative," Farrar said in an interview with Tracy Ross on Sounds Good. "We kind of try to exploit all those genres of music."
Old Salt Union will perform Saturday, March 3, at the West Kentucky Community and Technical College's Clemens Fine Arts Center in Paducah. The concert begins at 7:30 p.m., and general admission tickets are either available in advance for $8 or at the door for $10.
Old Salt Union has enjoyed a greater amount of exposure since signing to Compass Records, and Farrar said the band hopes to get back into the studio in the fall. He said the group's last album made a conscious effort to capture its live sound in the studio.
"We got in the studio with (producer) Alison Brown, and we kind of rearranged and reorganized and reimagined a lot of the songs the way that we played them live, more or less," Farrar said. "We tried to put the live spin on them as good as we could."
One of the surprises to make it onto that record was a cover of Paul Simon's hit song "You Can Call Me Al." Farrar said the band began playing the song as part of its live sets around two years ago.
"I don’t think we ever had any intention of ever recording it," Farrar said. "As time progressed, it kind of became a part of what we did. When we got into the studio with Compass, it just felt right to do it."
For more information on Old Salt Union, visit the band's website at oldsaltunion.com. For more information on Saturday's concert, visit westkentucky.kctcs.edu/visitors_and_community/arts_in_focus.