Dawn McCarthy has held a lot of jobs in her lifetime.
The Spokane, Wash., native has studied dance and theater and worked as a toy maker and an illustrator. Since 1997, McCarthy’s been making music for a living as a member of experimental folk group Faun Fables. The band returns to Columbia this weekend with a show at Conundrum Music Hall tonight.
Although McCarthy did not plan to pursue music professionally, she said it has always been part of her life.
“I grew up with a musical family, so I’ve enjoyed it from the beginning,” McCarthy said.
Both of McCarthy’s parents played piano, and her siblings played instruments. The singer said music carries happy connotations for her.
“I guess I can thank my family for giving me that,” she said. “It always felt like a magical thing and a fun thing.”
While the vocalist went on to discover other artistic avenues, her love of singing never went away.
“Singing was always there. It was instinctive,” she said.
The name Faun Fables is inspired by several different elements that share a common motif. McCarthy said Claude Debussy’s composition “Afternoon of a Faun” and Vaslav Nijinsky’s ballet of the same name were some of her favorite pieces growing up. A childhood nickname also played into the band’s choice of moniker.
“When I was really little, my brother gave me the nickname ‘Dawn the Faun,’” McCarthy said.
The singer originally planned to create a book called “Faun Fables” while she was studying sequential art in Manhattan, but chose to use the name for her musical endeavors instead.
McCarthy describes Faun Fables’ sound as “song telling,” a term she coined to explain the relationship between storytelling and song. The singer said the group’s tunes are an “ode to oral traditions” and her performance style mirrors the ancient folklore traditions of storytelling in Iceland and Africa.
A Faun Fables show is an interactive experience for the audience. McCarthy said the group has used props in the past and tries to find ways to use the space of a room differently.
“We break down the fourth wall,” McCarthy said. “We think of the show as a full spiritual experience.”
In addition to touring with fellow band member Nils Frykdahl, McCarthy’s two young daughters are traveling with Faun Fables, though they will not be joining the act on stage.
McCarthy said it’s been a bit of a challenge having her children on the road with her, but she expects the family will settle into a routine within the next few weeks.
“We’re trying to find the rhythm with it all,” she said. “I’m willing to embrace chaos as part of it.”
McCarthy said some of her best childhood memories are of the trips she took with her family, so she has enjoyed seeing the country with her own kids.
Faun Fables will be joined by roots rockers Jackaroe and solo artist the Good Witch. Doors open at 8 p.m. Friday, and the show begins at 9 p.m. Tickets are $10.