Written and Photographed by Jack Skidmore
The spirit of Americana music is nurtured by small communities of individuals who hold a deep appreciation for its style. During this summer, Portland-based folk band, Fruition, established significant connections with multiple small mountain towns within Colorado through a multitude of self-produced songs and awe-inspiring live performances. Bearing personal witness to this was an incredibly rewarding musical experience surrounding this unique band.
Prior to the formation of the full band, the frontwoman of Fruition, Mimi Naja, began a solo music career in Portland known as “Mimi Naja’s Fruition”. The creation of the current lineup of Fruition began in 2008 when Jay Cobb Anderson (another solo folk artist) saw Naja play live. As he has explained, this single experience was soul-touching enough for Anderson to motivate him to build a musical partnership between the two. In an interview with blog writer Bethany Bowman, Anderson states, “She played some music and she really touched me and made me cry the first time I heard her play. It was so beautiful.” A short time after, Kellen Asebroek joined the group to mainly play keys. Interestingly enough, Fruition owes much of their upbringing as a band to street busking. This was a form of income for the members for a bit of time and eventually connected them with their manager, Josh Nicotra, who noticed them at one of their street performances.
Alongside their skilled instrumental abilities, the vocal performance of this band constantly blows me away. As some fans have pointed out, the group executes impressive vocal harmonies similar to that of Crosby, Nash, Stills, and Young. Also, to uphold variety within their tracklist, each band member writes their own songs which they perform live with the rest of the band backing them. I love hearing the creative differences within each artist’s songs and delivery.
The style of Fruition’s albums is comforting Americana, bluegrass, and folk. However, upon witnessing the group live, it is evident they gravitate to new musical environments which are products of the band members’ raw energy and on-stage chemistry. Playing live, the group conveys elements of psychedelia, funk, jazz, and a more intense rock sound in comparison with their recorded music. Just as bands such as the Grateful Dead became known for their live music variance, Fruition encapsulates a similar appeal. Fruition may not be known for their diverse jams as the Dead was, however, I would argue it is difficult to get a grasp of their style without hearing their live performances.
This live performance appeal inspires an extremely loyal and active fan base. I myself fell victim to this. During this last summer, I attended three separate Fruition concerts in Colorado. Each felt very unique with the band trying out new songs at each stop. For a couple, I heard band members would claim they wrote the song that day and were trying to see whether or not fans would catch on. True or not, their experimentation on stage creates for an exciting and unique viewing experience.
Fruition focused on playing shows in Colorado during their tour this summer. Touring in a single state away from home gave the group a leg up to establishing an expansive following. First of all, their Americana style is something that Coloradans are well acquitted with as a culture. The style of “mountain music” thrives throughout the summer within small bars and outdoor music venues within the state. This also allows a group like Fruition to establish intimate connections with Coloradans. I would run into a lot of the same people at their concerts — many of whom had stories of meeting the members of Fruition at past shows. At each show these people held the same type of excitement as if they were seeing a friend perform live
Digressing from their exhilarating and energetic summer tour, I am hopeful that Fruition will transfer some of their tour vigor into album production. It is exciting to see a band from Oregon with the amount of musical momentum that Fruition holds. The music community is certainly catching on as well. During the Billy Strings concerts at the Moda Center in the last week of February, he paid homage to Fruition with a rendition of their song, Labor of Love. Without a doubt, Fruition holds a unique and admired pedestal in folk music and I cannot wait to see what they create next.