Rawlings' band Sunshine Faces, named for the lyrics of an alternative-rock song, is gaining recognition beyond Chapel Hill. In addition to a growing global audience, the group also has a strong regional college following and will perform tonight at the North Carolina Museum of Art’s College Night in Raleigh at 7 p.m.
Rawlings is a comparative literature major, so the work he pours into Sunshine Faces never receives the reward of a good grade. Still, the satisfaction of writing and performing his music has been remarkable in its own right.
“There’s an immediate realization of having done something worthwhile when you can put out music,” he said.
Rawlings hears positive feedback on his music from listeners all over the world. Over the past two years, he’s received emails from fans in Brazil and connected with radio stations and music labels in France and Spain. That kind of feedback, he said, would never come from writing a 10-page paper that only his professor would read.
The ability of art to transcend boundaries — geographic, cultural and otherwise — is what draws Rawlings to it.
“Art communicates without words often, or with a different set of words — a different vocabulary that is more effective,” Rawlings said.
Michael Purello, a friend and fan of Rawlings, agreed and said the music of Sunshine Faces connects with young adult audiences.
“He’s maintaining the lyrics he’s using in his produced recordings, and those are definitely something any teenager or college student could relate to,” he said.
