In YouTube videos, singer-songwriter Louie Green can steer a song toward the heart or heartland as easily as he turns a tractor in a fertile field.
In tunes such as "The Farm," he does both at the same time. He wrote the song for mother-in-law Carol Linn Banks and fittingly opens the video with the vocals of a mooing cow.
"It is about her life growing up on their farm in the White Creek area," Green said.
The Columbus native and his wife, Teresa, better known to followers as Green Timbre, will perform original folk/Americana material when they play a free show at 6 p.m. Saturday at the Bartholomew County Library Plaza, 536 Fifth St. in downtown Columbus. The duo also will perform a range of cover tunes, from Hank Williams to Tom Petty to Jimmy Buffett, when they play at 7:30 p.m. Friday at Ceraland Park, 3989 S County Road 525E south of Columbus.
"We may even throw in ‘Baby Shark’ every once in a while if there are kids around," he said with a laugh.
He figures the goal is simple at either show.
"We just want people to be able to have a good time and enjoy the environment," Green said. "I love playing outside when you can just look up and see the sky."
Green played in high school bands back in the day before everyday life intervened.
He and Teresa began performing locally about three years ago. He likes to watch audience members’ faces light up when he references local points of interest in his tunes.
"We like to tell the stories behind the songs," he said. "We want people to better understand."
The pair, fresh from an appearance at the Bartholomew County 4-H Fair, has recorded as many as 80 original songs at home. They figure their following consists mostly of a 40-plus age group who like the two’s "storyteller stuff," as Green calls it.
