The music created by Grand Rapids group Potato Moon is a lot like its name - one of a kind.

But if a label must be given, Ben Stancil, the band's guitarist and vocalist, would call it Americana.

"We're basically folk music with a little bit of bluegrass and little bit of blues," Stancil said. "We focused on the sound of the individual music, and our own sound just kind of came out of it."

Potato Moon consists of: Ben Stancil; his two sisters, Laura Stancil and Jane Stancil; his best friend, Andy Weber; and his dad, Phil Stancil. The group will play in East Lansing for the first time at 8 p.m. Friday.

The show will be held at the Ten Pound Fiddle Coffee House in the Unitarian Universalist Church, 855 Grove St.

The band's manager is Grace Stancil, the mother of Ben, Laura and Jane Stancil and the wife of Phil Stancil

"I never thought I'd be in a band with my dad and my two sisters. As honky as it may sound, I think it's kind of cool," he said. "We've always played in our family. We have a music room, and we just play in there."

Ben Stancil said there's many benefits of being in a band with three other members of his immediate family.

"I was in a rock band, and it's a lot of times just a ton of ego that comes along with playing music, for some reason. But with my family, they knew me when I had big, huge glasses and braces, and I can't throw ego at them and get away with it," he said.

Potato Moon has been an official group since May 2001. Before that, each member had a different project. Phil Stancil plays bass, Laura Stancil sings, Jane Stancil plays the keyboard and sings and Weber plays the mandolin.

"I played in one of those hippie jam bands in Grand Rapids for about five years and got sick of the bar scene," Ben Stancil said. "I was writing material, and we started getting local gigs, and it started to snowball a little bit."

One of the reasons the band has been so successful, said Jane Stancil, is the close relationship between the members.

"We do a really good job, it pulls us together because we're family; we're always in the same mindset," she said. "We all add a little piece of our own flair to make it what it is."

And because all of Potato Moon's material is original, the music will be a fresh treat to listeners' ears.

"We've got a wide variety of song styles," he said. "I think every song is considerably different."

For more information on Potato Moon, check out their Web site at www.potatomoon.org.