Picture the Freelance Whales performing in New York: The band performed in subway stations with harmonium, glockenspeil, marching band drum, mandolin, banjo and guitar.

"It was really fun," says Whale member Kevin Read. "The third time we played in the subway we started seeing more people who weren't just our friends at our night shows."

The group, which will perform on Wednesday, March 10, at the Pilot Light, creates pop music that is playful, delicate and beautiful. The band's new album, "Weathervanes," loosely tells the story of a boy who falls in love with a ghost. And, it captures that combination of innocence and magic.

The band formed in 2008 and began winning fans in New York after only a few months of performing together - despite some unfortnate shows where sound men didn't quite get the group's combination of acoustic and electronic instruments.

The band has been featured at the College Music Journal music festival and been on a national tour.

Both Read and fellow member Jake Hyman agree that the Freelance Whales' best moment was when the group completed that series of shows.

"We finished it, and we're all talking to each other and real excited," says Read. "Most bands break up."

The tour's last show was at New York's Webster Hall.

"The venue holds 1,400 people, and we had never played a place any bigger than 200," says Hyman.

The buzz on the band, the group's affable attitude and the response to "Weathervanes" all bodes well for bigger crowds in the future.

"I'm really surprised at how fast it's moved so far," says Read.

Wayne Bledsoe may be reached at 865-342-6444 or bledsoew@knoxville.com. He is also the host of "All Over the Road" midnight Saturdays to 4 a.m. Sundays on WDVX-FM.

© 2010, Knoxville News Sentinel
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