A group of high school students dances onstage with Rocky's Revival at The Wounded Bookshop as part of the Fredericksburg All-Ages concert series. View More Images from this story Visit the Photo Place

HITTINGA CHORD Harmonious pairing of musicians and audiences brings life to downtown Fredericksburg CONCERTS ON TAP

Ian Soper's book and photo exhibit tell the story of the popular Fredericksburg All Ages concert series downtown

By MICHAEL ZITZ

Date published: 1/12/2008

IN HIS NEW BOOK, local photographer and Web designer Ian Soper deftly uses his camera to chronicle and celebrate the warm-and-fuzzy, against-all-odds, teenage-volunteer-driven success story of the Fredericksburg All-Ages music series that has become a bit of a phenomenon downtown.

"Community should not be trivialized," series founder Adam Bray notes in Soper's book, "FAA ONE." "This is bigger than all of us."

Bray's day job is with the National Council of Churches in Washington, working in environmental advocacy. He then advocates for a healthy environment for live music for local kids when he comes home from work.

He's the Fredericksburg's musical moral equivalent of George Bailey. He's made personal sacrifices over the last 18 months to create a wonderful life for the less fortunate in the local music scene, from formerly deprived teen fans who couldn't get into bars to see shows to budding rock bands looking for a sober audience that actually cares about music

"Adam is really in tune to music and to youth culture and making sure we have really good bands," the 28-year-old Soper said this week. "And he takes the high school bands under his wing. He's created a really exciting scene."

Bray, a 28-year old Stafford High School and Mary Washington College graduate, grinds it out during the week, taking the train to his job in Washington, then hits the road as part of the progressive pop band Tereu Tereu on Friday and Saturday nights. But he still finds time to put together the nonprofit indie and folk rock FAA series. It's played primarily, but not entirely, to youngish audiences, with the ages of fans ranging from 7 to 70.

"FAA is a safe place to be where they can have a good time, and where the artists can have a venue for their music," Soper said.

Years ago, when he was playing locally with the band Divide By Zero, Bray was unhappy about seeing fans turned away from shows in Fredericksburg because they were under 21.

ON THE WEB myspace.com/fredericks burgallages iansoper.com pantarheiproject.com myspace.com/tereutereu Tomorrow, 6 p.m., The Third Floor, 810 Caroline St., Fredericksburg. Bottle Up and Go, Tereu Tereu, Bronze Episode, Dylan Gilbert. Cost is $5. Jan. 27, 6 p.m., The Third Floor 810 Caroline St. Andy Zipf, Paul Michel and Meredith Bragg. Cost is $5. Feb. 9, 7 p.m., The Third Floor, 810 Caroline St. Endless Mic, Dr. Strange, Ancient Mind (FAA's first hip-hop show). Cost is $5.

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Date published: 1/12/2008