THEY FOLLOW THE HARVEST Back Porch Musicians Get Fresh With Farmers Nationally Coco (Carolyn) Kallis and Lafe (rhymes with “waif”) Dutton write and perform blues-based acoustic music at over 100 farmers markets coast to coast each year. The two baby boomers, who met more than three decades ago, have created their own niche to follow their passion for songwriting and earn a living: they book 7 to 15 markets in a city they want to visit, and invite people who buy their CDs to host house concerts. They play 5 markets a week plus house concerts, promoting eating fresh and buying locally. In 2007 they went to Boston to break into the music scene and found scores of other singer-songwriters trying to do the same thing: there was no room at the Inn. So they started playing on the street and in the subway and found that people bought their CD’s in quantity. They kept a spreadsheet of their busking results: hours played, location, CDs sold and tips received. They then used that data to make a business out of playing music on the street for two summers. It showed them where and when to play, what days and what hours to maximize income. While busking one day in Harvard Square, a woman approached them and asked if they would play at the Farmers Market she managed in Cambridge’s Central Square. Surrounded by fresh produce and friendly farmers, they realized they’d found a home and a cause. She gave them the names of other managers around the Boston area, and they found themselves playing markets daily. Acoustic radio hosts embraced their original, character-driven story songs. The 2009 Café Loco release of 14 original songs received radio play on 172 stations in five countries. That grew into touring markets nationally. Daily and community newspapers wrote stories about the unusual tour, bringing more people out to the markets. In December of 2010, at the end of a 17,000 mile six month tour, they got the attention of Real Time Farms, a crowd sourced “Farm to Fork” online food guide, who offered to sponsor the next ocean to ocean tour. They have released 5 CDs in 4 years and tour with a small beagle.