Frontman Blake Christiana said he enjoys audiences who get active during shows.
"Last month a guy jumped onstage, but then he just kind of stood there," Christiana said. "I think he was surprised he even made it up there, and he didn't know what to do. That's always fun though."
Yarn's name has a double meaning: they are a string-based roots band, and their lyrics often spin stories and yarns. Since 2007, they have released four records that have topped the AMA and R&R radio charts. Dartmouth will be one of their first college performances, as they typically perform at festivals and clubs.
Christiana met his bandmates in Brooklyn, though their record label is based in Tennessee. Their cross-country travels influence music that is derivative of a range of styles.
"We kind of run the gambit," he said. "We take the music in a lot of different places."
Christiana, who plays acoustic guitar, often writes songs in the morning.
"That's often the cleanest time to get things out," he said. "I'm not thinking about late bills and whatnot. Sometimes writing in the car is good too."
Yarn is known for their engagement with fans. They record all of their live shows and post them online, and one of their albums was released through Kickstarter, a fundraising platform for creative projects.
"I kind of felt like we were panhandling through the Internet at first," Christiana said. "But if we didn't do something, we weren't going to get this record out."
Their Kickstarter campaign raised $50,000, though they had hoped for just $15,000.
"We've got some really committed people who have connected with the music," Christiana said. "Any time we play in a new city, we hang out with the fans afterwards. Now we have friends all over the country."
Christine Wang '14 said the band will add diversity to Green Key's usual lineup of pop and rap lineup.
"It's a brand of music that embraces positivity and good vibes," said Zach Wooster '15, a member of the new country band Chuck. Yarn's style "fosters the atmosphere that comes from being at Dartmouth in the springtime, just kind of letting loose and having fun with your friends during Green Key," he added.
Yarn recently signed on with Grammy-nominated producer Bil VornDick, who has worked with Bob Dylan and Alison Krauss. VornDick saw the band at a festival in Nashville and later stumbled across them on the radio. Since then, the band has over 150 tour dates per year.
Their influences include Paul Simon and Neil Young, among others. In this day and age, having an old-fashioned rock-and-roll or folk band can be difficult.
"Rock, you know how it is, it's got cycles," Christiana said. "It's a hard business and it always has been."
While the Internet allows the industry to be oversaturated with bands, it can also "reach millions of people," he said. "If you know how to find your audience and your audience can find you, you can be successful."
Yarn's new record comes out Sept. 4.
