The barn and walking trails provided a rustic backdrop for Diandra Doble’s performance on Saturday afternoon.
By James Kinneen
Hometown Weekly Reporter
With COVID vaccines seeming like more of a hopeful wish than a scientific reality, around this time last year, outdoor, socially-distanced events were at a premium. But any fears that the outdoor concerts at Adams Farm would lose their appeal as people become more comfortable with crowds and being indoors were allayed on Saturday afternoon, when a large group of music fans of all ages showed up to Music in the Barn at Adams Farm.
“We’ve gotten more people this year” President of the Friends of Adams Farm Roy Noepel explained. “I had taken a poll, and I thought it would have been due to our new website or our enhanced Facebook page, but surprisingly I found it was due to word of mouth. So, it’s wonderful to know that area folks told their friends and family to attend, and that’s how we have more people this year.”
North Attleboro’s Diandra Doble was the first performer. A recent graduate of Anna Maria College with a Bachelors Degree in Music Therapy, Diandra put her hair in a bun after the wind kept whipping it in her face before playing some mostly contemporary fare, like an acoustic version of Britney Spears’ “Toxic”, Train’s “Hey, Soul Sister” and Jason Mraz’s “I’m Yours”, which Doble encouraged everyone to sing along with, as the 2008 hit was “a classic.”
When Doble was done, Matt Tremble took the stage. After joking that he was wearing a hat to keep his own luscious locks from blowing in the wind, Tremble explained that he usually performs songs from the 60’s and 70’s with his band “Groovy Situation”, but that he likes performing solo, since it allows him to perform the songs that don’t quite match his band’s aesthetic. Making every Millennial in the crowd feel a bit better about themselves, Tremble’s version of “the classics” included 80s hits like Bruce Springsteen’s “Thunder Road”, a-ha’s “Take on Me”, Spandau Ballet’s “True” and John Denver’s “I’m Sorry.”
The third performer was Wrentham’s David Penza. Roy Noepel explained that Penza has been instrumental in finding talent for the concerts, as well as performing himself.
“We’ve chosen Dave to be one of the performers and to pull other performers in his network, which has been a great help, because he’s such a great talent.”
There will be three performers during each of Adams Farms’ three scheduled concerts this year, which have been spaced out to about one a month. But Noepel also explained that the outdoor concerts aren’t the only way you can enjoy the barn: people can rent it out for any type of party and take advantage of the resources it has to offer.
On Saturday afternoon, though, the best resources Adams Farm had to offer were the butterfly garden, the miles of hiking trails and the live musical stylings of Diandra Doble, Matt Tremble and David Penza.
