Chad Stokes has played bigger venues than the 150-seat Peace Abbey.

As a member of the widely lauded indie band Dispatch, Stokes toured across the nation, played in hundreds of clubs in front of thousands of fans, and even made an appearance on national television.

To hear Stokes tell it though, the sold-out show he and his new band, State Radio, will play tomorrow in Sherborn will be one of the their most important.

For starters, the gig is something of a homecoming for Stokes, who was born and raised in Sherborn. More importantly, it will act as a fund-raiser for the nondenominational center for political activism.

"I’ve always wanted to do something for the Peace Abbey," Stokes said last week by phone. "State Radio does a lot of benefit shows, (but) I haven’t done something that’s been solely focused on the Peace Abbey.

"It’s been a real sort of sanctuary for me, since I grew up in Sherborn. It’s just a wonderful place."

Over the years, Stokes has worked with Peace Abbey director Lewis Randa on a handful of projects, and said this week’s concert would be special.

"He’s always integrated music and peace, and that’s always been really important to me as well," he said.

Friday’s show, and another gig Saturday at Axis in Boston, will also give the band a chance to showcase "Camilo," the song Stokes wrote about Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia, a conscientious objector who was jailed in 2004 for refusing to return to Iraq.

Mejia took refuge for a time at the Sherborn center, and officials there helped him find a lawyer to fight charges he’d been AWOL.

Stokes said he first heard of Mejia’s story through Randa, and was immediately moved to pick up his guitar.

"In today’s climate, you can’t help but feel the war in Iraq is ever-present," he said. "A lot of the more serious songs on the record are very much filled with imagery and that sort of betrayal we felt from our own government, for the reasons for doing to Iraq...and just sort of grappling with the corruption of our country’s leaders."

Writing a song on cue is never easy, Stokes said, but "Camilo" came surprisingly fast.

"It was a story, to me, I felt could be told, and it was inspiring," he said. "That’s all it took for me to sit down and see if I could create something musical that could hold up to the Camilo’s story."

The song, which features stomping sounds reminiscent of the marching footsteps of soldiers is overflowing with stark imagery.

"From another land’s war torn corners/ to a prison cell in my own/ punish me for not taking your orders/ but don’t lock me up for not leaving my home," Stokes sings mournfully.

"We had a lot of fun recording the song, too," Stokes said.

Though most of the CD was recorded in studios in Boston and New York, "Camilo" was put to tape in a Connecticut farmhouse that had been converted into a recording studio.

"We took a case and emptied it out and the three of us stood on that and stomped our way through the song while slapping our chests," he said. "It was fun to sort of mess around with (those sounds,) without it being too literal."

That playful attitude permeated recording sessions for the CD, Stokes said, despite songs that touch on hot-button themes like the rights of the elderly and disabled.

"We wanted to take the liberty on this record to...not limit ourselves as far as the sounds we were hearing," he said. "It was cool. You know, for some of the background parts, there were people we’d just met and were like, ’You wanna come up and sing a background part?’ It was really fun."

The band came together in 2003, following Dispatch’s breakup after eight years.

Interested in combining his activism and music, Stokes recruited Chuck Fay, formerly of Prices of Babylon and Boston-area drummer Brian Sayers to form State Radio.

And though the new group hasn’t reached Dispatch’s level of success yet -- the group sold an impressive 400,000 CDs with the help of major distributors -- Stokes said he wouldn’t have it any other way.

"It feels really good," he said. "Everyone’s on the same page and really excited, and excited to play some of the new songs and just sort of have this social awareness and consciousness be a part of the music.

"In this country, at this time, it’s a powerful time to be on the road and talking with people."