Erin Inglish fell in love with playing banjo when she left for college.

“I was still pursuing my dream of becoming a mechanical engineer at that time, so I played a lot of banjo between classes,” Inglish said.

Now Inglish is preparing to perform

at The Attic in Moscow. The show

will be put on by the Palouse Folklore Society, a volunteer organization in operation since 1981.

“We hold concert dances every month, sometimes more than once a month if there’s a special occasion. All dances are taught, and we encourage all members of the community to come, any age,” said Marsha Schoeffler, the organization’s director. “You can come and listen to live music…. Even if you don’t dance, it’s wonderful music.”

Inglish said her performance is open to the public, and those who attend are welcome to donate whatever they see fit.

“I’ll greatly look forward to meeting anyone in Moscow who comes out to share the evening, and it will be a privilege if they want to come and share a night of stories and music with me,” she said. “No one will be turned away.”

In honor of Earth Month last spring, Inglish rode her bike along the California coastline for her first solo tour as an artist. She said she averaged 30 to 60 miles per day and played shows in the evenings.

“I wanted to see the California coastline in a way that I’d never done before, and I wanted to do something to celebrate Earth Month,” Inglish said. “I chose to forgo fossil fuels for my transportation and chose to do it all human-powered.”

Raised on the central coast of California, Inglish has traveled all over the world, living in Madagascar, India, Bulgaria and Serbia. She spent 13 months in India working on a water treatment project and said that all of her traveling has influenced her music. She said she is especially excited for her next performance, as it will be her first time in Idaho.

“For every country I’ve lived in, I’ve been inspired by the music there and my experience there,” Inglish said.

Inglish said she believes positivity can be shared through music, and her goal is to help people feel like they make a difference. She worked as a Green Building consultant up until a year ago when she quit her job to play music full-time.

“I realized life is too short,” she said. “I’m not going to be on my death bed wishing that I had kept my nine-to-five job.”

The performance is scheduled to take place Friday 8 p.m. at The Attic in Moscow.