Artist Category: Roots | Page 4

Chatham Rabbits

Sarah McCombie, of the North Carolina duo Chatham Rabbits, is ready for change: “I’m ready for our fans to get to know the people we are now. We’ve grown up together and getting to reveal this album feels like our collective coming of age.”

This declaration is coming from a woman who has spent the past six years building a robust catalog and passionate fanbase within the Americana community with her husband and bandmate, Austin McCombie. A woman who knows there is more to the band’s story than vows, banjos and vintage dresses.

The duo has released three albums — All I Want from You (2019), The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full (2020), If You See Me Riding By (2022) — that nod to the old-time roots of their college stringband pastime, but with their new release, Be Real with Me (February 14, 2025), they have demonstrably grown up. “These past two years have totally changed us,” describes Austin. “We’re not as bright-eyed and naive as we were when we committed to Chatham Rabbits full-time.” This honesty is the backbone of their fourth studio album. The title is the ask — or rather the plea — Be Real with Me.

As unified as ever being the McCombies, the two have faced challenges within their marriage, an overhaul of faith and belief systems, a global pandemic, three moves, the loss of beloved family pets, and the heartbreak that is unique to getting really real and brutally honest with each other. Austin’s once fair freckled arms are now adorned with tattoos by artists he’s met on the road, and natural elements that bring him joy. Sarah’s closet is still brimming with vintage pieces, but she’s likely to reach for a slip dress at the moment instead. With their forthcoming release, Sarah is excited for fans to hear the band’s forward momentum. The music speaks for itself.

As Sarah explains, “we got married so young. We are simply not the same people we once were because playing music for a living has consumed and transformed us. This lifestyle has presented us with exhausting tour schedules, vulnerable songs that force us to talk about our marriage, difficult business decisions, and the ever-complicated dilemma of mixing art and money and friends and employees. Ultimately, though, it has been a net positive experience.”

Written post-pandemic by Sarah and Austin and recorded over a two-year period at the Studio at Small Pond Farm, in Pittsboro, NC, Be Real With Me was co-produced by Austin McCombie and the band’s longtime collaborator, Saman Khoujinian (The Dead Tongues, Lou Hazel). This record is the band’s “Return of Saturn,” an astrological phenomenon that occurs around the age of 29, when one reevaluates life, and through trial and error, figures out who and what one would like to commit to moving forward. This record is about doing your best and still failing, facing the imposter in the mirror, wanting to be reckless and young while simultaneously mature and maternal.

Green Heron

The music of Green Heron stretches across the entire folk landscape. Old-time, folk, bluegrass, country, celtic and blues music are all represented as the band brings the back porch to the stage. Featuring Betsy Heron (formerly Green) on fiddle, banjo and vocals, and Scott Heron on guitar, banjo and vocals, the duo has been sharing New England stages together since 2017. The two songwriters weave the contemporary with the traditional and deliver high energy performances.

Betsy, brought up playing country music with her family’s band in rural Massachusetts, still plays alongside her three sisters in The Green Sisters. Meanwhile, Scott spent several years in various metal bands touring New England and much of the country before discovering folk and bluegrass. Despite their very different backgrounds in music, the pair still draws from their roots when writing and performing and have found a common love for Americana music.

To date, Green Heron has released three albums: Folk Heroes in 2018, New Pair of Shoes in 2019 and Feet on the Floorboards released in 2021. The latter of which was recorded at their home during the pandemic by Ben Haravitch and Circus Tent Studio.

Throughout their home state of New Hampshire, the duo has been featured in a variety of publications and have made appearances on several television and radio stations including WMUR’s New Hampshire Chronicle as well as NHPR’s All Things Considered and The Folk Show. New Hampshire Magazine featured Green Heron among the Editor’s Choice picks for their Best of 2020 issue and Seacoast Edge listed Feet on the Floorboards among their best albums of 2021.

The band occasionally performs on stage and records in studio with a variety of acts throughout New England. The two founded the Americana quartet Mama Ain’t Dead and released their self-titled debut album in September 2019.

Green Heron has shared the stage with several touring acts including The Del McCoury Band, The Seldom Scene, The Way Down Wanderers, and Them Coulee Boys in world-class venues such as Prescott Park, Belleville Roots Music Series, Ossipee Valley Music Festival, Stone Church, Bank of New Hampshire Stage, Club Passim, and Word Barn.

Hannah O’Brien & Grant Flick

Hannah O’Brien and Grant Flick play a mix of original compositions and traditional pieces from various fiddling traditions. Initially connecting at the University of Michigan, they found common ground despite coming from different backgrounds with Hannah from Classical and Irish fiddling and Grant from American improvisational idioms. In 2021 they released their first duo record, Windward, and look forward to releasing their second record Unmatched Pair in August 2024.

The duo has received multiple prizes including the Binkow Chamber Music Grant, U-M Excel Enterprise Grant, and the Club Passim Iguana Music Fund, as well as participating in the Honeywell Arts Resonance Week as Festival Artists.

While the duo feels at home on double fiddle, they also change instrumentation incorporating tenor guitar and nyckelharpa. Their musical interests are broad and as a result, their programs showcase an eclectic assemblage of repertoire.

The Bad Oats

The Bad Oats are a progressive string band based out of Nashville. Since they formed in 2019, they have been making a name for themselves in the Roots Music Community, performing at festivals and stages around the country, including The Fresh Grass Festival and The Ossipee Valley Music Festival. They are the winners of the 2021 Telefunken Band Competition at The Podunk Bluegrass Festival.

Their debut full length album, The Other Side of Love, showcases the band’s diverse range of influences while displaying their strong foundation in American Roots music. On the album, which features seven original songs, one can hear echoes of artists as diverse as Crooked Still, Del McCoury, Buck Owens, The Rolling Stones, and Billie Eilish. The Other Side of Love was recently released on March 15, 2022.

Casey Murray & Molly Tucker

Casey Murray & Molly Tucker are a Boston-based folk duo. With Molly on fiddle and Casey on cello, guitar, and banjo, the two play original and traditional tunes in Celtic, New England, and Old Time styles. They spent the first few years of their duo writing tunes and songs from a distance while Casey attended Berklee College of Music and Molly attended Oberlin College and Conservatory. At the start of the pandemic, they graced the screens of virtual dances and performances across the country. They can more recently be found in dance halls, festivals, and listening rooms across New England, including Boston’s premiere folk venue Club Passim and Festival Trad Montréal, delighting audiences and dancers alike with their infectious energy and groove. Casey and Molly released their debut album After the Sky Weeps in April 2022.

Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road

Rapidly rising on the bluegrass scene, Billboard-charting artists Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road perform internationally and stateside winning both industry awards and the hearts of fans who turn out to see them at some of the industry’s most iconic venues.

Named Momentum Band of the Year by IBMA in 2019, Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road have been recognized as one of the fastest growing bands in the industry. Their latest release “Roots” debuted at #6 on the Billboard Bluegrass Album Charts, joining their three previous albums for a total of 12 weeks in the Top 10.

Growing up just down the road from Doc Watson, Liam Purcell leads Cane Mill Road as they rock the traditional bluegrass standards they were raised on, yet boldly write original music with roots in the fertile grounds of bluegrass, old-time, and Americana. Their powerful arrangements and dynamic stage presence have landed them main stage slots at legendary festivals across the country.

You’ve seen Liam Purcell & Cane Mill Road on national TV with PBS appearances on David Holt’s State of Music and Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. Other performance highlights include Merlefest, Grey Fox, The Berklee Performance Center, and Wide Open Bluegrass.

The band is sponsored by Deering Banjos, GHS Strings, Shubb Capos, Sorensen Mandolin & Guitar Company, Kogut Violins, NS Design, and Fishman Amplification.

“The future of bluegrass…” No Depression

“Their skill is clearly unquestionable” Bluegrass Today

“Deeply rooted in traditional bluegrass, their songs boldly and progressively interpret classic songs” The Bluegrass Standard

“Making their mark on bluegrass and fueling the future” Bluegrass Unlimited

“Cane Mill Road, based less than six miles from Deep Gap, North Carolina, the home of Doc Watson, draws its inspiration from the late singer/guitarist whose musical imagination gathered inspiration from the deepest Appalachian roots while courageously finding connections to almost all elements of American music…the band has quickly ignited a spark that has led to a recording contract with Patuxent Music and early recognition from the International Bluegrass Music Association” No Depression

Beg, Steal, or Borrow

Beg, Steal, or Borrow play traditional and improvisational bluegrass and roots music and are known for their warm harmonies, virtuosic instrumentals, and tight-knit musical interplay. The band got its start recreating the iconic Old and In the Way album in 2013 at Higher Ground in Burlington, VT. Since their debut, they have developed a passionate regional following and broadened their repertoire to include a deep list of covers as well as original songs and instrumentals, many of which are featured on their 2019 full-length CD, Old Mountain Time. They’ve headlined at top venues throughout northern New England and have appeared at many of the leading east coast festivals including Greyfox, Podunk, Green Mountain Bluegrass and Roots, Thomas Point Beach, Jenny Brook, and Winter WonderGrass, winning three band competitions along the way.

Cristina Vane

Cristina Vane is an Americana artist out of Nashville. Her signature bottleneck slide guitar playing, travis picking, and clawhammer banjo are tied together by her silky, powerful voice and her vivid songwriting. Born in Europe to a Guatemalan mother and Sicilian-American father, Vane’s musical perspective is decidedly unique and authentic.

Her debut release, Nowhere Sounds Lovely was produced by Grammy-award winning drummer and producer, Cactus Moser (Wynonna Judd). Vane’s latest album, Make Myself Me Again was released April 2022, and was co-produced by Brook Sutton, Jano Rix (of the Wood Brothers) and Cristina herself, and and charted the AMA as well as a few Alternative Country charts. Cristina has an extensive touring history and has provided direct support for: Bob Weir, Wynonna Judd, Cass McCombs, Town Mountain, Duane Betts and Willi Carlisle.

Vane sold out her 2021 Station Inn debut and was featured in the Bank of America ad for Ken Burns’ Country Music documentary. She was an invited guest for Billy Strings’ String the Halls 3, has appeared on Travis Book’s Happy Hour and The Woodsongs Old-Time Radio Hour. 2022: Bender Blues Festival (NV), 4 Corners Folk Festival (CO), Briggs Farm Blues Festival (PA).

Matt Flinner

Multi-instrumentalist Matt Flinner has made a career out of playing acoustic music in new ways. Starting out as a banjo prodigy who was playing bluegrass festivals before he entered his teens, Flinner later took up the mandolin, won the National Banjo Contest at Winfield Kansas in 1990, and took the mandolin award there the following year. Since then, he has become recognized as one of the premiere mandolinists as well as one of the finest new acoustic/roots music composers today.

He has toured and recorded with a wide variety of bluegrass, new acoustic, classical and jazz artists, including Tim O’Brien, Frank Vignola, Steve Martin, Darrell Scott, the Modern Mandolin Quartet, Dave Douglas, Leftover Salmon, Alison Brown, The Ying Quartet, Tony Trischka, Darol Anger, and the Nashville Chamber Orchestra. He has also recorded two Compass Records CDs and toured as part of Phillips, Grier and Flinner with bassist Todd Phillips and guitarist David Grier. His two solo CDs (also on Compass), “The View from Here” and “Latitude,” are now widely considered classics in the new acoustic/modern bluegrass style. His current group, the Matt Flinner Trio (with guitarist Ross Martin and bassist Eric Thorin), has forged new pathways in acoustic string band music with their two ground-breaking CDs, “Music du Jour” and “Winter Harvest”.

Mike Block Trio

Mike Block Trio, featuring Joe K. Walsh (mandolin/vocals) and Zachariah Hickman (bass/vocals), is led by cello player, singer, and composer, Mike Block, who has been hailed as “one of the bravest, most intriguing musicians on the American fusion scene” by Gramophone Magazine. The trio fertilizes American roots music with contemporary and international influences, bringing an exciting and personal perspective to the acoustic music scene.