OUR STORY

Farpoint's vision is to create melodic and powerful positive music that mixes the influence of rock, folk, classical and more. Through seven full length studio albums, two live albums, and over fifteen years of live performances, Farpoint has always walked their own path, creating a unique blend of sometimes folky, sometimes symphonic, and sometimes hard-rocking music that comes from the heart.

Combining dynamic male and female vocals, poetic lyrics, subtle acoustic and aggressive electric guitars, melodic bass, intricate drumming, a variety of keyboard textures, and even an occasional touch of mandolin, flute, or violin, Farpoint's music is often described as a modern take on the likes of early Yes, Moody Blues, Pink Floyd, Rush, Fleetwood Mac, Jefferson Airplane, and more. But don't be fooled; These influences are combined with an original spark that creates the unique Farpoint sound. Lyically Farpoint attempts to convey a message of faith, love, hope and peace.

Farpoint was formed in Sumter, SC in 1997 when multi-instrumentalist Kevin Jarvis and drummer Rick Walker discovered a shared musical ideology and many common influences. Their first musical discussion centered around the likes of Yes, Rush, Kansas, and Pink Floyd. The two immediately began writing together, recording demos, and seeking like-minded musicians to round out the group. The first live performance took place in 1998 at a gathering of Yes fans, where the band played a mix of originals and Yes covers. By this time singer/rhythm guitarist Clark Boone and singer/flautist Dana Oxendine had joined the band. Early 1999 saw the addition of bassist/guitarist Frank Tyson, and the band was off and running.

The first single was released in 2000, a folksy tune called "Just Like You," with another acoustic song, "Moments," included as a bonus track. Plans were underway for a full-length album when, in 2001, Walker had to step away from the band for a time. Most of the initial songs which had been slated for the debut album were put on hold and a batch of new songs were composed, largely by Jarvis, Boone, and Tyson. Drummer Johnathan Rodriguez stepped in and the first album, FIRST LIGHT, was released in 2002. Songs on this album included the acoustic, Celtic-tinged "Words of Pain," and the 14-minute epic and live favorite, "To the River."

For the follow-up album, GRACE, released in 2003, the songs slated for the first album were brought back into the mix, including the first Jarvis/Walker collaboration, "H2Origins." Virtuoso lead guitarist Mike Avins was brought on board, and although Walker was not able to commit to playing drums, his voice was added to some spoken word sections on a couple of songs. In summer of 2003, just after the release of GRACE, Farpoint performed the first of what would be 4 consecutive years at the Rogue Independent Music Festival in Atlanta, GA, sharing the stage with many other progressive rock acts including the likes of Man on Fire, Cobweb Strange, Timothy Pure, and many others.

In late 2003, Rodriguez left the band and founding drummer Walker returned. This lineup recorded the band's critically acclaimed third album, FROM DREAMING TO DREAMING, which was released in late 2004. Much of this album was written during a very fertile writing period by Boone, supplemented by a few contributions from Jarvis. Highlights include regular show closer "Autumn Sky" as well as Boone's high energy "Universal Light" and "Crying in the Rain," which showcased a heavier side of the band by way of Avins' crunchy rhythm and blistering leads, combined with Walker's intricate and bombastic drums and some biting synth and organ from Jarvis. Also making it's debut on this album was one of Farpoint's most popular songs among their fans, the 10-minute "Sojourn," which was penned by Jarvis and Boone with some lyrical help from Oxendine, and Jarvis' dreamy and introspective "O Lost."

Also during this time period Farpoint was asked to contribute a song to the Mellow Records Moody Blues tribute, HIGHER AND HIGHER. "New Horizons" was chosen and recorded, and released worldwide on the 3-disc compilation. The band played out very regularly through 2005 in support of the new album, including an appearance at the ProgDay preshow in Chapel Hill, NC, and in late 2005 decided to take a break and assess their options. The decision was made in December to disband, due to several internal and external factors.

Jarvis and Walker continued to work on material together, mainly consisting of a concept album that Jarvis had been writing. They recruited vocalist Dean Hallal and singer/flautist Jennifer Meeks to lend their talents to the material. By early 2006, Tyson had expressed interest in taking part, and a new Farpoint was born. The concept album went through many revisions, and finally became the band's 4th album COLD STAR QUIET STAR, featuring guest performances by guitarists Joe Driggers and Sam Sanders, and double bassist Trey Franklin. Songs featured include what one reviewer called a "melodic prog manifesto" by name of "Red Shift," as well as the short, high energy, time-signature-defying "Solar Wind," and the dark, heavy "Darkness." Closing out the album was another new sound for Farpoint by way of the droning, spacy "Machine Symphony."

Around this time, visual artist David Frain, who had provided the artwork for all four Farpoint albums to date, asked the band to remix and extend a song, "Lux Universum," from the FROM DREAMING TO DREAMING album to use in his CGI movie, LIGHT SPEED DREAMING. Walker and Jarvis remixed the song, adding some additional instrumentation and some ethereal vocals from Meeks, and the lush, 9-minute-plus "Lux Universum: Dreaming mix" was born. The song was used in the opening and closing sections of the movie, and is now available by download only.

For the completion of COLD STAR QUIET STAR, which was released in 2008, audio wizard Jeff Hodges (of the band Man on Fire and owner of Charleston Sound Studios) was asked to help out with mixing and mastering the album, and this eventually led to Farpoint being asked to sign with independent progressive rock label 10T Records. With the addition of lead guitarist Dave Auerbach, the band recorded their 5th album, KINDRED, which was produced by Hodges, and released on 10T Records in 2011. Highlights from the album include the bright, jangly "Another Day," which one reviewer compared to the Decemberists, as well as the prog-folk mini epic "Water of Life," and "Vacant Halls," an exploration of what's left behind after the loss of loved ones, featuring some beautiful, melodic, and mournful guitar leads from Auerbach over a lush bed of strings and organ and alternating vocals from Hallal and Meeks.

Just before the release of KINDRED, Meeks left the band, and vocalist/pianist Abby Thompson joined. A cd release party for KINDRED took place at the Sumter Opera House in the band's hometown of Sumter, SC, in the summer of 2011. The show was recorded and released in 2012 as WATER OF LIFE: LIVE AT THE SUMTER OPERA HOUSE. This live release contained music from every studio album, including an extended version of "Autumn Sky" with an acoustic intro and a new verse, and the previously unreleased "Part of Me," as well as live versions of such early favorites as "Sojourn" and "To the River."

The band was already working on new material, and recording began immediately. Auerbach departed, leaving lead guitar duties to be shared between Jarvis and Tyson. Farpoint's 7th album, PAINT THE DARK, was released on 10T Records in the summer of 2014. Among the new songs were one of the band's most experimental songs in "Stand," which features some outstanding and innovative drumming from Walker, a studio version of the Latin-tinged "Part of Me," and the 12 minute, "western prog" auditory voyage called "Vision Quest." The album closes with the short but energetic, mandolin-driven "Power," a song about the power of music as a means of communication. Hallal and Thompson trade vocal leads throughout the album, to keep things interesting. PAINT THE DARK saw the return of cover artist David Frain, as well as flautist Jennifer Meeks (now Jennifer Weich) on a few tracks. In addition, violin was added to several songs courtesy of violinist Christi Hunter Brownlow.

Around the time of the release of PAINT THE DARK, Abby Thompson moved and was forced to resign from the band. In the summer of 2014, Farpoint, as a 4 piece comprising Jarvis, Walker, Tyson and Hallal, contributed a cover of the Tears for Fears song "Mad World" to the soundtrack for an independent comic book, THE HAWK OF NEW YORK, written and drawn by artist Randy Biship. The band later added additional vocals by Jennifer Weich and released it as a digital single.

Things were quiet for a while, with some members devoting attention to other musical pursuits, but in the fall of 2015, Farpoint was offered a chance at a unique one-off acoustic event. The KINDRED era lineup of Jarvis, Hallal, Walker, Tyson, Weich, and Auerbach reconvened in December of that year to see what would happen. The event, a live internet broadcast, took place and was a great success! Because of this, Farpoint reconvened in the studio and the result was the release two new/old songs. First was the re-recording of the band's 2002 epic, the 14-minute "To the River," which was released in August, 2016. Second was a brand new cover of the Moody Blues classic, "The Story in Your Eyes," which was released in September of 2016.

In July of 2017, Farpoint released STARCROSSED, a 6 song compilation album which includes one song from each of the 6 Farpoint studio albums. The album is available only as a digital download through Bandcamp. In February of 2020, Starcross Music released I SHOULD HAVE BEEN HOME YESTERDAY: CELEBRATING THE MUSIC OF JOHN DENVER, featuring a cover of "The Foxfire Suite" performed by Farpoint, as well as appearances by various Farpoint members on many of the other songs.

In July of 2022, the band released a brand new studio album, celebrating 25 years as a band and 20 years since the release of the first album. Entitled THE JOURNEY, the album features the COLD STAR QUIET STAR lineup as well as a few special guests, including Brian Coralian of the band IZZ, Dennis Mullin of ILUVATAR, and local friends vocalist John Berry and guitarist J. D. McKnight.
Later in the year, Farpoint released an archival live concert from 2008 under the name of LIVE UNDER THE AUTUMN SKY. To close out the year, Farpoint released their first Christmas song, a dynamic reimagining of the classic carol, “I Saw Three Ships.”

Farpoint's history has been full of unexpected changes, surprises, twists and turns. Currently the band has a few ideas in discussion, and time will tell what avenue they end up choosing to pursue. Who knows what the future holds…