PETERSHAM — As a young kid Luke DeRoy, singer and guitarist from Amherst, spent his time listening to his father play guitar. Finally, when his cousin got a guitar, DeRoy begged his father to get him one, too — and he hasn’t put the instrument down since.
DeRoy plans to play his first show at the Petersham Friday Market today as part of the “Learn As We Go” tour his band, the Luke DeRoy Trio, is doing. Throughout the summer and into the fall, he said, he will travel around to local farmers markets during the day, and play breweries at night.
When DeRoy started learning acoustic guitar in his bedroom while in high school, he played for only himself or sang quietly in the library. Today, he said singing has become one of his biggest strengths as a musician and one of his favorite ways to perform.
“It is the voice that really tells the story,” he said.
Before studying at Berklee College of Music for two years starting in 2013, DeRoy pursued music at Holyoke Community College. He has been in various bands and groups, from playing punk rock songs to what he now calls his own sound — “folk-soul.” As a high school student, DeRoy grew up listening to punk rock bands, but finds himself resonating with musicians such as Neil Young and the Beatles to create his own style.
In 2015 he formed his trio with Ian Haas, the band’s percussionist, and Ryan Fess, who plays bass guitar. DeRoy said he enjoys the slow, casual pace of playing at farmers markets and likes to be surrounded by other people working for themselves to make a living, like he does singing and strumming his guitar.
“It is the lifestyle that I like to be around,” he said.
Before heading to the Friday Market today, DeRoy played at the Orange Farmers Market Thursday afternoon.
Each week the Petersham Friday Market showcases various musical acts like DeRoy. More than a dozen local farms gather to sell their produce, starter plants, locally raised meats, baked goods, honey and other craft items from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. each Friday on the town common.
For more information about joining the market as a vendor, about becoming a sponsor or about the market in general, contact Roy Nilson at 978-724-6662 or by email at fridaymarket@petershamcommon.com.