The acoustic Americana music of Sarah Jarosz will mix with the comfortable, artistic atmosphere of Rozz-Tox cafe when she performs there on Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 8 p.m.
For this event, singer/songwriter/instrumentalist Jarosz will visit Rozz-Tox to perform a mix of songs from her three albums, especially from her most recent one “Build Me Up From Bones.”
Tickets will be $18, and the show is open for all ages.
“I feel really excited about this album,”Jarosz said. “It feels the most focussed, in terms of portraying my musical sound, of incorporating the trio that I tour with, that is in the recording. And also just in terms of the songs, I feel like my songwriting has grown a lot, especially in the last four years.”
Jarosz will be accompanied by a list of accomplishments during her Rozz-Tox performance. Aside from her three albums, Jarosz has also been touring nationally, which is what brings her to Rock Island.
Rozz-Tox, situated in Rock Island,  regularly hosts events such as music performances, poetry readings and film screenings.
The café is also known for its variety of flavorful cupcakes.
“That is one of the nice things about Rozz-Tox, that it is sort of a chameleon, with these different genres of music,” said Rozz-Tox owner Benjamin Fawks. “It sort of is shaped and influenced by the crowd that is here.”
Jarosz’s music finds its roots in roots/folk/Americana sounds, and her influences are musicians such as Gillian Welch, Joni Mitchell and Bob Dylan. However, she also finds inspiration in poetry and paintings.
Though her music has a bais in folk, her time at the New England Conservatory of Music helped her to branch out and learn new and different styles of music.
“My songwriting process kind of varies,” said Jarosz. “It is a process of collecting lyrical and melodic ideas and sifting through all of that and seeing what works together. A lot of the songs come from personal things that happened to me and also just trying to be a good listener and observing everything around me.”
Last year, Jarosz graduated from Boston’s New England Conservatory of Music.
In 2010, she was nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Country Instrumental Performance, and she was only 16 when she signed to Sugar Hill Records. It was at age 10 when she started to play her first instrument, a mandolin, and now a guitar and banjo have been added to her abilities.
Despite the fact that Jarosz particularly enjoys performing at music festivals, she looks forward to the intimate coffee shop setting that Rozz-Tox provides.
Fawks also believes that Jarosz’s sound will blend well with the café.
“Usually musicians of that caliber, when they are here, they let their guard down,” Fawks said. “They are not in the big music hall or something, they are right up there with the people in a comfortable atmosphere, and they tend to open up a little bit more, as well, on stage.”