Name: The Church
Start: 2026-06-21T20:00:00
End: 2025-07-21T23:00-05:00
Location: Haw River Ballroom

<h3>December 16th:</h3><h3>&nbsp;Breathwork and Inner-Relationship Focusing for Male-Identified People</h3>With Culture Mill and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/breathworkdurham/">Ari Berenbaum</a>6pm to 9pm : The Haw River BallroomFacilitators will guide participants through multiple rounds of breathwork, followed by an introduction to Inner-Relationship Focusing, in order to allow new embodied insights into the complex connection between internal physiological and emotional landscapes. Specifically for male-identified people who often lack spaces for such internal and communal exploration, this workshop is designed to foster a deeper and greater understanding of all that can be unearthed by spending time within the complexity of the body and the felt sense.

Practice Forward

“Electric guitar, saxophone and rap in one night at Cup22, December 27th 6PM. Come on over for a free show and see two genre blending acts”“Nonsense is an alternative rock duo consisting of Holland Lagarde and Jasper Ewing. Their sound knows no bounds, ranging from pastoral and calm, to digital and anxious. Their most recent EP, Office Pop, is a sardonic reflection on corporate culture. Blending saxophone, guitar pedal freakouts and drum machines, Nonsense is not to be trusted around instruments.”“MONKEYCHILD is the project of Asheville based rapper, singer, producer and thinker Milo Davis. His first singles captured a distorted and manic vision of rap, predating current rap trends by several years. Milo's most recent release, MAN2, is his most essential and cohesive work yet. Brilliantly assembled self produced tracks pull influence from 2000's R&amp;B (COME BACK 2 ME) and trap (2 American), while others sear with intensity (2DUNKED FREESTYLE). Prolific and also unpredictable, MONKEYCHILD's next moves are ones to watch.”

Nonsense

Join us this New Year’s Eve for the exuberant dance fest we all need! &nbsp;Haw River Ballroom DISCO CAMP! &nbsp;Dance instructor and host Malik Walker will turn you into a pro! Learn The Hustle, The Robot, The Bus Stop, Night Fever and Nutbush City as you fine tune your skills through each dance session. All levels welcome - this is an unintimidating joyous night of laughter, dance and fun. Once we all have it down the dance party begins! Special appearances by the Saxapahaw Xanadu Skate Club, Go Go Dancers (by the end of the night YOU might be one!) Confetti, Stage Access and Glitter Dodgeball and of course the group countdown to 2026! Join in!

New Year's Eve Disco Camp

Josh Ritter is a renowned singer, songwriter, musician, artist and best-selling author. One of today’s most thoughtful and prolific voices, he has released eleven studio albums including 2019’s widely acclaimed ‘Fever Breaks’ of which NPR Music praised, “He remains a hydrant of ideas while embodying an endless capacity for empathy and indignation, often within a single song.” His twelfth studio album ‘I Believe in You, My Honeydew’ is out now. Two-plus decades into his celebrated career, Ritter has written music that has transcended generations including luminaries such as Bob Dylan, Joan Baez, and Bob Weir covering his songs. The Book of Gold Thrown Open tour is meant to encompass the whole of Ritter’s career, versus focusing on any one studio album. In addition to his work as a musician, Ritter is also a national best-selling author, having released two novels to date: 2021’s The Great Glorious Goddamn of It All and 2011’s Bright’s Passage. Released to critical attention, Stephen King wrote in The New York Times Book Review that Bright’s Passage “shines with a compressed lyricism that recalls Ray Bradbury in his prime…This is the work of a gifted novelist.” “Josh Ritter remains at the top of his game two decades into a highlight-strewn career. He’d be forgiven for loosening his grip, but his hand has never felt surer.”- NPR Music “Harking back to Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen and maybe a little Mark Knopfler, Mr. Ritter has always been a slinger of serious ideas and high-flown imagery.”- The New York Times “Mysterious, melancholy, melodic…and those are only the M’s.”- Stephen King in Entertainment Weekly

An Evening with Josh Ritter (Night 1 of 2)

An Evening with Josh Ritter (Night 2 of 2)

This show is standing room.Born and raised in North Carolina, the Tan and Sober Gentlemen began taking in the songs, stories, and tunes that make up their beloved state’s musical tradition before they could talk.The music of the Carolinas, (and Appalachia in general) stems from the marriage of the Irish fiddle and the African banjo, which first met in the American South before the Revolution. The Tan and Sober Gentlemen aim to bring these traditions full circle. They play Irish tunes, ballads, and pub songs right next to the Appalachian fiddle tunes of their youth, melding the two into what they call “Irish-American hillbilly music.”Meanwhile, they have earned a reputation as one of the South’s hardest-hitting live acts, playing at blazing tempos and putting every last bit of energy they possess into the show. The result is a raucous celebration of the Carolinas’ Irish heritage, with drinking, dancing, and merriment galore. Since their formation in 2017, the six-piece band has toured the US and Ireland, headlining legendary Irish clubs such as Whelan's and the Roisin Dubh and playing the internationally renowned festival Electric Picnic. Stateside, their resume includes festivals such as the IBMA Bluegrass Live!, Bristol Rhythm and Roots, Appaloosa Festival, Great Blue Heron, and Shakori Hills. This year they will be adding Merlefest and the Blue Ox Festival to their resume as well as Fleadh Cheoil na Héireann, the world's largest annual festival of Irish music. In January of 2024, in their home of Alamance County, they sold out their show at the Haw River Ballroom recording a live album with a crowd of 800 people. They released their sophomore record, Regressive Folk Music, in June 2022, and their debut record, Veracity, was named by Shite'n'Onions as one of the five best Celtic punk records of 2019 and 2020.

The Tan & Sober Gentlemen

THIS IS A STANDING ROOM SHOW.Nearly a decade ago, Margo Price turned Nashville on its head with her breakthrough, beloved debut solo album, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter. Released in the throes of bro-country and before pop stars were crossing over into the genre left and right, it showcased an artist completely unafraid to double down not only on herself, but what she’d always loved: classic country songs written from the intellect and the gut, hell-bent on truth-telling and both timeless and urgent all at once. Respected by her peers, praised by critics and beloved by her fans, Price created a lane where independent-minded, insurgent country music can exist and thrive alongside the mainstream, and became an ardent fighter for her beliefs in a genre where the norm is to shut up and sing. A trailblazer and a champion for the craft, Price redefined what it meant to be a modern country artist.&nbsp;​And now she’s back with an exquisite, truly timeless album that reconnects with her roots and pays tribute to the art of the country song, inspired in part by the legends whom she now calls colleagues and friends. Hard Headed Woman is both a look forward and a look back: a way to march forward while staying true to yourself when the path of less resistance is right there in front of us, and short cuts are around every corner. And a way to look back when we need to trim what is no longer working, and to stay connected with where we’re from. It is a promise and a manifesto, a love song to both a city and a genre, and a defiant cry for individuality.&nbsp;In creating Hard Headed Woman, Price brought all of her power as one of &nbsp;our most beloved and respected songwriters to craft a deep exploration of love and America in a time of unprecedented uncertainty. Featuring appearances from Tyler Childers, co-writes with Rodney Crowell and a Waylon Jennings song that his widow, Jessi Colter, urged her to sing, it is country music as only Price can make it: free of rules, cherishing tradition, hard headed to the core but with a delicate, beating heart.&nbsp;Since releasing Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, Price has barely slowed down. She’s made four records, played Saturday Night Live, been nominated for a Grammy, toured the world alongside artists like Chris Stapleton and Willie Nelson, released a lauded memoir (Maybe We’ll Make It, due on paperback September 2nd), became an in-demand producer and was appointed as the first female board member of Nelson’s Farm Aid. And she’s been fearless when it came to genre, venturing into psychedelic rock on her most recent, Jonathan Wilson-produced record, Strays. It would have been easiest to just stay that course, and keep running. But Price doesn’t follow success or comfort. She follows the art.&nbsp;​It took a whole lot of hard work and honesty with herself and others to get there, but that’s never stopped Price before. &nbsp;“I made the decision that I had to rebuild everything from the ground up,” Price says. “There’s all this pressure to be pumping out content, and I felt the opposite in the way I wanted to approach this record and my life in general.”

Margo Price

This is a standing room show.Few bands stick around for thirty years. Even fewer bands leave a legacy during that time that marks them as a truly special, once-in-lifetime type band. And no band has done all that and had as much fun as Leftover Salmon.Since their earliest days as a forward thinking, progressive bluegrass band who had the guts to add drums to the mix and who was unafraid to stir in any number of highly combustible styles into their ever evolving sound, to their role as a pioneer of the modern jamband scene, to their current status as elder-statesmen of the scene who cast a huge influential shadow over every festival they play, Leftover Salmon has been a crucial link in keeping alive the traditional music of the past while at the same time pushing that sound forward with their own weirdly, uniquestyle.The band now features a lineup that has been together longer than any other in Salmon history and is one of the strongest the legendary band has ever assembled. Built around the core of founding members Drew Emmitt and Vince Herman, the band is now powered by banjo-wiz Andy Thorn and driven by the steady rhythm section of bassist Greg Garrison, drummer Alwyn Robinson, and dobro player &amp; keyboardist Jay Starling.The current lineup is continuing the long, storied history of Salmon which found them first emerging from the progressive bluegrass world and coming of age as one the original jam bands, before rising to become architects of what has become known as Jamgrass and helping to create a landscape where bands schooled in the traditional rules of bluegrass can break free of those bonds through nontraditional instrumentation and an innate ability to push songs innew psychedelic directions live.Salmon is a band who for more than thirty years has never stood still; they are constantly changing, evolving, and inspiring. If someone wanted to understand what Americana music is they could do no better than to go to a Leftover Salmon show, where they effortlessly glide from a bluegrass number born on the front porch, to the down-and-dirty Cajun swamps with a stop on Bourbon Street in New Orleans, to the hallowed halls of the Ryman in Nashville, before firing one up in the mountains of Colorado.

Leftover Salmon

PopUp Chorus Come celebrate LIFE and COMMUNITY by singing these two fantastic songs with PopUp Chorus!Join us to sing two harmony rich pop classics, one newer and one older, at each of our PopUp Chorus events at the gorgeous Haw River Ballroom. Sing your heart out with a room full of people who will soon be your friends, as we create a chorus in a night. All voices and abilities are welcome!What is PopUp Chorus?Ask yourself these questions: Do you like to sing? Have you thought about joining a chorus but are too busy to commit? Do you sing in the shower or in your car? Did you sing in college or school but don’t have an opportunity to now? If you answered "YES!" to any of these questions, then you belong in PopUp Chorus. We’re an ad hoc chorus with no audition or weekly commitment. People turn up when they want to sing and love the songs. We’re never the same group twice and everyone is welcome, regardless of singing ability. We do not believe bad voices! At each PopUp Chorus, co-conductors, Kayla Richardon-Pichè and Carter Hodge, along with a full band, will teach harmonies and parts for both songs. When everyone is ready, we do a dress rehearsal, and end with a final filmed performance. This is your chance to feel the joy of singing with others. It’s easy and fun.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Pop Up Chorus

As the eyes open and the world first blinks to life, there it is: oblivion. Rather than destruction or collapse, Alice Phoebe Lou’s oblivion is a deep, inky place where motes of softly burning potential gently drift into life. The South African-born, Europe-based singer-songwriter reached past the torrential noise of modern life and into another space to pull out luminous melodies and intimate lyrics, turning them into playful, profound songs that honor the sublime simplicity of her busking years. “Instead of overthinking the outcome and the judgment, these songs are just creating for myself, a coming home,” she says of Oblivion (due October 24 via Nettwerk Music Group). “Tapping into this unawareness of unconsciousness sounds like bliss. Oblivion is a place where you can forget what others see in you and find your true essence.”Over the course of five impeccable LPs, Alice Phoebe Lou established herself as a musical force, continuing to unveil new facets to her expressive vocals and beguiling songwriting. While that evolution drew rave reviews from critics and her growing fanbase (now totaling more than 2.1 million monthly listeners on Spotify), the singer-songwriter was starting to feel the pressure of needing to constantly build the next stage.&nbsp;While previous albums may have reveled in immaculately layered production, here Phoebe Lou flutters over a simple acoustic strum—the listener placed in the room, in the moment with the lyrical self-appraisal. The songs of Oblivion flow in an almost dreamlike state, melodies looping like concentric circles and wordless harmonies floating through the mix—likely the result of a dedicated stream of consciousness songwriting process. Recorded in Berlin's La Pot Studio and co-produced by longtime collaborators and friends Ziv Yamin and Dekel Adin, Oblivion is a masterclass in push-and-pull subtlety; Alice Phoebe Lou’s voice feels lit by a spotlight and placed on a pedestal even as the songs live in quiet, confident moments.&nbsp;Throughout its ethereal trek, Oblivion drinks in the unknown and holds your hand as you wade into that mysterious depth. Across its stripped-back arrangements, Alice Phoebe Lou turns vulnerability into a mythic strength, contorting uncertainty and conflicted emotions into intimate friends. “These songs are coming from the darker places in yourself, that place of holding something inside and then letting it go, even if it’s embarrassing or vulnerable,” she says. “Oblivion leans into the idea of allowing yourself to let things overflow in order to feel them, work through them, and come out on the other side.” Alice Phoebe Lou invites listeners to explore both her oblivion and their own as well, illuminating a long, iridescent path of the soul and coming out stronger on the other side.

Alice Phoebe Lou

Afie Jurvanen does not spend too much time in cities these days. For nearly two decades, Jurvanen was a fixture of the Toronto scene, both as a valued multi-instrumentalist and producer for friends like Feist, The Weather Station, and Kathleen Edwards and as the architect of one of his country’s most celebrated artists, Bahamas. Jurvanen came of age across Bahamas’ first six albums, the restlessness of jumpy early hits like Pink Strat and Barchords slowly shifting into the generous domesticity of 2023’s Bootcut. But Jurvanen has long been drawn to open spaces, to a quieter life. In 2009, the year of his aforementioned debut, he began visiting Nova Scotia, the Atlantic Ocean. Over the next decade, his trips became more consistent, then more frequent, and then longer, until, in 2019, Jurvanen and his family of four finally made the move—nearly 2,000 kilometers northeast, to Nova Scotia. They live a lifestyle, Jurvanen half-jokes, that is “close to Mennonite.” The kids are homeschooled. No one has an iPad. Text messages can feel like miracles. But in 2022, Jurvanen went back to a city—namely, Music City, or Nashville, Tenn. During five days at the Sound Emporium, he worked with some of America’s true country greats, aces like Vince Gill and Sam Bush, Russ Pahl and Mickey Raphael. Bootcut, he reminisces, was maybe the easiest record he’s ever made, his songs and visions executed with utter clarity by absolute pros. When Jurvanen came home, though, he still had a few tunes and plenty of energy. Could he make more music, he wondered, outside of a city?&nbsp; Despite his extended résumé, Jurvanen has never been much of a tech guy or studio hound, never one for making his own records. In 2021, however, producer and multi-instrumentalist Joshua Van Tassel had also left Toronto, moving back to Nova Scotia and building a little studio, called DreamDate, in a backyard shed there. It was just small enough to skirt inspections, just big enough to house everything. Jurvanen had once rented Van Tassel’s space back in Toronto to listen to his Earthtones album on someone else’s speakers, to decide if it was ready for release. He’d been impressed by the place’s minimalism and tidiness, by the studio rarity of everything working. So Jurvanen began driving the 20 minutes from his cottage to Van Tassel’s spot via a winding ocean road, passing his days hanging out with his local friend and recording some songs. There was no real agenda but to work and play. And that’s how two people in a little shed made what may be the most effortlessly magnetic record in the entire Bahamas catalogue, My Second Last Album. Van Tassel and Jurvanen played every sound on My Second Last Album, from the buzzing acoustics of “Shadows” to the Mellotron ostinato of “Play the Game.” This self-dependence allowed them to do anything they wanted, to follow musical enthusiasms into any space they favored. Jurvanen wrote “The Bridge” via text with Hiss Golden Messenger’s M.C. Taylor, and he and Van Tassel turned it into an infectious country-funk tune, the strutting refrain closing the gap between Little Feat and Canned Heat. “Ready for a New Thing” echoes Joni Mitchell’s famous electric guitar tone, using it as the core of a buoyant little pop song about growing up, about being happy with growing older. “Feels So Good” is a modern soul wonder, its perfect groove framed by bass, piano, and finger-snap drums and built with a brilliant amount of negative space. There is charging indie rock, hazy piano, and pastoral folk-rock. Again, My Second Last Album is anything Van Tassel and Jurvanen wanted it to be.&nbsp; What’s most striking about these 10 songs, though, may be Jurvanen’s lyrical candor and open sense of play. He often found himself so motivated by what he and Van Tassel had accomplished during the day that he’d go home and write another song by night, the pace giving him permission to put down words without second-guessing himself. “Don’t hold back/share your opinion,” as he belts out as he emerges from the bridge on the funny and real opener, “Sauna.” His opinions here range from government payouts that could feel like pandemic bribes (again, “Sauna”) to the anti-rock star practice of waking up early enough to see the dawn and feel the day take shape (“Ready for a New Thing”). Over the tender piano of “Only Inspiration,” he extols the virtues of living in a house of women and girls, while he chastises Henry Ford’s vitriol and social media’s endemic bile on “Dearborn.” There is a burgeoning strain of self-determination to it all, of finding and accepting new ways to live for oneself and for everyone else, too. As Jurvanen, the son of immigrants, sings during the poignant closer, “We all belong in this country.” In the country, Jurvanen found his own state of being. For a long time, Jurvanen didn’t know what to do with My Second Last Album. After cutting a legitimate country record in the city where the genre lives, was it a too-weird left turn to put out a loose-limbed indie-pop set cut in a shed? He thought about slicing it into singles or splicing it as a bonus onto some sort of future Bahamas compendium, maybe even shelving it altogether. But then he put the record back on after not hearing it for several months and had the simplest and most profound realization possible: He loved these songs, the way they sat together, the story they told about who he was at that moment—a married father content to live in the country alongside the very ocean where he surfs, a musician who often goes to his buddy’s house to casually make some music. It became My Second Last Album, one of Bahamas’ truly indispensable works.

Bahamas

Iron &amp; Wine is the musical project of singer-songwriter Sam Beam. Bornand raised in South Carolina, Beam is a former film professor who got hisstart making home recordings before landing on Sub Pop Records. Iron &amp;Wine’s 2002 debut, The Creek Drank the Cradle garnered both critical andpopular acclaim, vaulting Beam into the spotlight of the burgeoning indie-folk/Americana scene as one of its new and leading voices.For over 20 years, Iron &amp; Wine has captured the emotion and imaginationof listeners with distinctly cinematic songs. His recorded output includesseven full-length studio records, collaborations with Calexico, Ben Bridwell(Band of Horses), and Jesca Hoop, countless EP’s, singles andcompilation/soundtrack appearances, a live concert documentary, and fiveGRAMMY nominations.Iron &amp; Wine’s latest record, Light Verse was released in April 2024 withPaste Magazine noting “… Beam returns with an expanded sonic palettewhile also rekindling the bright spark that made 2007’s The Shepherd’sDog so magical.”

Iron & Wine

Over the past 20 years, The New Pornographers have proven themselves one of the most excellent bands in indie rock. They’ve constantly offered new sonic surprises with every album, and ‘Continue as a Guest’ is their greatest leap to date. The group’s ninth album and first for Merge establishes them alongside modern luminaries like Yo La Tengo and Superchunk when it comes to their ability to evolve while still retaining what made them so special in the first place.

The New Pornographers

Due to an urgent family medical issue,&nbsp;The Church&nbsp;is forced to postpone their upcoming U.S. Tour.&nbsp;This show will be rescheduled to&nbsp;June 21,2026.&nbsp;All tickets will be valid for the new date. * In the event that a refund is needed,&nbsp; please use the Etix customer support form: <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.etix.com/ticket/customer-support.spa">https://www.etix.com/ticket/customer-support.spa</a>Few bands enter their fifth decade of making music with all the fierce &nbsp;creative energy of their early years. Even fewer bands are like The Church. Experiencing a renaissance of sorts with their worldwide critically-hailed 26th album The Hypnogogue and its companion 27th album (that also serves as a &nbsp;worthy standalone) Eros Zeta and the Perfumed Guitars, The Church has &nbsp;witnessed their continued impact to astonishingly grow exponentially in &nbsp;audience size and media attention through not only their new albums but a &nbsp;world tour that took them through North America, the UK, Europe and back &nbsp;home to Australia. Coupled with the 2024 vinyl re-issues of their first four &nbsp;albums – Of Skins &amp; Heart, The Blurred Crusade, Séance, and Heyday – their most recent Australian tour was one of their most successful tours to &nbsp;date. The band also launched an exclusive fan community via a partnership &nbsp;with The Chorus, aptly named nightfriends. It is a first for this storied band &nbsp;– an online experience where fans can receive first dibs on concert and new &nbsp;release presales, have access to unreleased songs/demos/live cuts, never before-seen live show video content and concert films, behind-the-music &nbsp;essays about the creation of pivotal albums, exclusive band Q&amp;As and Forum &nbsp;interactions, and much more. 2025 is turning into a banner year for the band, getting ready to turn the &nbsp;page and both explore new music and celebrate their impressive catalog &nbsp;with a slew of live dates. Kicking off with their first-ever ‘Singles-centric’ tour this Summer in North America, they will be digging into their catalogue and &nbsp;playing the songs that launched them into mainstream consciousness, including “Metropolis,” “Ripple,” “C’est La Vie”, and of course, “Reptile” and &nbsp;“Under the Milky Way.” They also have a new album – their 28th! – planned &nbsp;for release later this year.&nbsp;The renowned five-piece line-up is made up of bassist, vocalist and founder &nbsp;Steve Kilbey, along with long-time collaborator, drummer, and producer Tim &nbsp;Powles (a member since 1994), guitarist Ian Haug, multi-instrumentalist &nbsp;Jeffrey Cain, and guitarist Ashley Naylor. The Church continue to remain a &nbsp;treasured creative force.

The Church

Launched a little more than twenty years ago in Raleigh, North Carolina, Chatham County Line built a devoted local following on the strength of their genre-bending live show—an intoxicating blend of bluegrass, folk, country, and rock and roll—before breaking out internationally with their 2003 self-titled debut. In the years to come, the band would go on to release eight more critically acclaimed studio albums, top the Billboard Bluegrass Chart four times, collaborate with the likes of Judy Collins, Sharon Van Etten, and Norwegian star Jonas Fjeld, earn two gold records in Norway (where they were also twice nominated for the Spellemannprisen, Norway’s equivalent of a Grammy), and share bills with everyone from Guy Clark and Lyle Lovett to Steve Martin &amp; Martin Short and The Avett Brothers. NPR&nbsp;hailed the group as “a bridge between bluegrass traditions and a fresh interpretation of those influences,” while Uncut&nbsp;lauded their “powerful melodies and gorgeous harmonies,” and Pitchfork dubbed their music “timeless.”&nbsp;The band’s latest release, Hiyo, marks the band’s first release since the departure of their longtime banjo player and serves as something of a reintroduction to the roots stalwarts, complete with new sounds, new collaborators, and a whole new lease on life. Recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain studio with co-producer/engineer Rachael Moore (Kacey Musgraves, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss), the collection finds the trio—Dave Wilson (lead singer/guitarist), John Teer (fiddle/mandolin) and Greg Readling (bass/pedal steel), embracing change at every turn, experimenting with fresh sonic palettes and innovative approaches to their core instrumentation. The songwriting remains classic Chatham County Line here—rich, evocative tales of love and heartbreak, joy and sorrow, righteousness and revenge—but the settings have evolved to incorporate synthesizers, drum machines, and more electric guitar and percussion than ever before. Given the group’s string band roots and decades spent singing around a single microphone, the results are nothing short of revelatory, taking an enduring sound and injecting it with a thrilling new spirit of discovery and vitality.

Chatham County Line Holiday Tour

This is a partially seated show.Reared in Georgia and now settled in North Carolina, Jake Xerxes Fussell has established himself as a devoted listener and contemplative interpreter of a vast array of so-called folk songs, lovingly sourced from a personal store of favorites. On his latest album, When I’m Called—his first LP for Fat Possum, and his first as a parent—Fussell returns to a well of music that holds lifelong sentimental meaning, loosely contemplating the passage of time and the procession of life’s unexpected offerings.The album was produced by James Elkington and mixed by Tucker Martine. In addition to Elkington, it features the playing of Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), Joe Westerlund (Bon Iver, Califone), and others. Blake Mills contributes guitars on several tracks. Joan Shelley and Robin Holcomb provide backing vocals.“…Fussell is the rare contemporary to approach folk in its pure form, shunning self-penned compositions about bummer relationships to concentrate on material handed down from bygone, hardened times.” – The New Yorker“(Fussell) is one of the great magpies of American song, collecting forgotten, tarnished gems with a folklorist’s zeal… his renditions aren’t so much cover versions as composites…” – The Guardian“…maybe the leading interpreter of American folk music right now.” – Ann Powers, NPR

Jake Xerxes Fussell (Partially Seated Show)

The annual Saxapahaw Holiday Market is back on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7!Hours are Saturday 12/6 9am-5pm and Sunday 12/7 9am-4pm.Admission is free!Shop with vendors across Saxapahaw at Haw River Ballroom, Hawbridge School - Upper and Lower and Culture Mill. Please visit our neighbors around the village as well! VENDOR SPOTS ARE FULL!

Holiday Market (Day 2 of 2)

The annual Saxapahaw Holiday Market is back on Saturday, December 6 and Sunday, December 7!Hours are Saturday 12/6 9am-5pm and Sunday 12/7 9am-4pm.Admission is free!Shop with vendors across Saxapahaw at Haw River Ballroom, Hawbridge Schools - Upper and Lower and Culture Mill. Please visit our neighbors as well around the village! VENDOR SPOTS ARE FULL!

Holiday Market (Day 1 of 2)

<h3 style="text-align: start">November 4th:</h3><h3 style="text-align: start">Songs of Resistance</h3>Led by Kamara Thomas and Kym Register6pm to 9pm: The Haw River BallroomSome things cannot be expressed only in spoken or written words. For those, singing is required. How can raising our individual voices into collective song be a practice that builds embodied solidarity and resistance while allowing the braiding together of both grief and joy. You do not need to be a singer or even able to carry a tune to participate. All you need is a body and a voice.

The human who sings and composes under the name Bonnie "Prince" Billy and acts under the name Will Oldham has, over the past three-plus decades, made an idiosyncratic journey through, and an indelible mark on, the worlds of independent music and cinema. With his highly individualistic approach to music making and the music industry, one that cherishes intimacy, community, mystery, and spontaneity; his brilliance has captivated fans and made Bonny one of our most influential and beloved songsmiths.&nbsp;Bonnie "Prince" Billy's latest offerings include 2023’s Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You and 2024’s Hear the Children Sing the Evidence (with Nathan Salsburg and Tyler Trotter). &nbsp;He had a cameo role in Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders. &nbsp;BPB’s newest record is The Purple Bird (produced by David Ferguson), and features such giants of American music as John Anderson and Tim O’Brien.

Bonnie "Prince" Billy with Dawn Landes and Matt Kivel

Andy Falco and Travis Book are both members of the Grammy award winning bluegrass band The Infamous Stringdusters. Inspired by their love of the music of Jerry Garcia, the duo branches off on their own for occasional tours to celebrate Garcia’s timeless songs.“The project actually originated back stage at ‘Dusters shows where Travis and I would typically warm up with some fun Jerry songs” Falco explains. “At some point we just thought it would be fun todo it in public”They draw from Garcia’s solo material, his Grateful Dead catalogue as well as the Traditional songs Jerry loved to play.“Performing this music as a duo allows us to explore the songs and jam in a way that’s unique to playing as a Duo” Says Book. “We typically hear these songs in larger ensembles, but the songs done with just bass and guitar somehow make the music very interactive with the audience. It’s really a testament to the quality of the songwriting, and we like to put a spotlight on that aspect of Jerry.”

Andy Falco & Travis Book Play Jerry Garcia

November 18th + December 3rd: Intergenerational MovementWith Culture Mill and Clint Lutes6pm to 9pm: The Haw River Ballroom

This is a standing room show.I did not enter this world afraid And I refuse to leave it this way. &nbsp;&nbsp; Flock of Dimes – the solo project of multi-instrumentalist and producer Jenn Wasner – releases her third album, The Life You Save, worldwide on October 10th, 2025, on Sub Pop Records. &nbsp; Across the last few decades – whether it be as Flock of Dimes, as half of beloved duo Wye Oak, or via one of her many collaborations with Bon Iver, Sylvan Esso, and a sprawling list of other musical juggernauts – Wasner’s extensive catalog displays her gift for balancing authenticity and directness with an unmistakable left-of-center sensibility. Her songwriting has always found her as a keen-eyed observer, a deeply empathetic and thoughtful storyteller with a skill for probing memory, heartbreak, and unhealed trauma, a shroud of syncopation or off-kilter guitar taking a song somewhere quietly prodigious. &nbsp; Her last solo album, the critically-lauded Head of Roses, took on heartbreak from a dualistic perspective, following a winding thread of intuition into the unknown and into healing. Her new album, The Life You Save, takes that a step further; put simply, it’s the most honest, intimate and personally revealing record of Wasner’s career. As heart-wrenching as they are hopeful, its twelve tracks delve the depths of addiction and codependency, inherited and experienced trauma, and the process of finding peace in the face of others’ suffering. The Life You Save is resonant, unflinchingly exposed – like a missive from the eye of a storm. But while it somehow manages to feel both viscerally raw and vulnerable, above it floats a sense of quiet peace, a sheen of hindsight, or perhaps of acceptance. It is the story of how it feels to be trapped between two worlds—the one you came from, and the one you’ve escaped to; about the belief that somehow, you can take the ones you love with you to this place; about the grief of realizing that the only person you can save is yourself. &nbsp; The Life You Save was produced by Jenn Wasner and recorded at Betty’s in Chapel Hill, NC, and Montrose Recording in Los Angeles, CA, and includes the highlights “Long After Midnight,” “Defeat,” “Afraid,” “Keep Me In The Dark,” and “River In My Arms.” The Life You Save also features additional production from Nick Sanborn (tracks 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11), is engineered by Adrian Olsen &amp; Alli Rogers, mixed by Adrian Olsen, and mastered by Huntley Miller. &nbsp; &nbsp; Jenn writes on The Life You Save: &nbsp; “My previous records, generally, have been a summary of things I had already been through— experiences I had observed and reflected upon, reporting back from some amount of distance. But this record is different. It is an attempt to report from inside of a process that is ongoing and unfinished, from which I will likely never fully emerge as long as I am alive: my struggle within the cycles of addiction and co-dependency. &nbsp; “I set out trying to make a record about other people. &nbsp; “Their problems, their struggles, their addictions.

Flock of Dimes

This is a standing room show.Ketch Secor is a merry ringmaster, passionate professor, modern Beat, and unassuming virtuoso. The Story the Crow Told Me is his solo debut, tracing the journey from street busker to founding Old Crow Medicine Show, now a Grammy-winning, Opry-member band behind the double-platinum hit “Wagon Wheel.” Produced by Jody Stevens, the album&nbsp;features Marty Stuart, Molly Tuttle, Willie Watson, Jaren Johnston, and an ode to Nashville with help from Bob Dylan and Johnny Cash.&nbsp; Ketch will be touring in 2025 in&nbsp; support of the album on his The Story The Crow Told Me Tour.&nbsp;

Ketch Secor (of Old Crow Medicine Show): Story the Crow Told Me Tour

This is a seated show&nbsp;The musical King Mackerel &amp; The Blues Are Running is a long-running and beloved theatrical performance of music and stories about fishing and life along the Carolina coastline. Called “a pure salt watered delight” by the late Clive Barnes, New York Post theater critic, King Mackerel is full of tall tales and rollicking songs told by The Coastal Cohorts–a trio of good-ole boys who happen to be staging a benefit concert to save the Corncake Inlet Inn. The lively cast of fishermen-musicians sings up a storm, tells fish stories, ghost stories, and relates accounts of first loves and ones that got away.&nbsp;The Coastal Cohorts are working to protect North Carolina’s coast—and beyond!—by supporting The Nature Conservancy, and you can, too! Please consider adding a donation at checkout. 100% of donations will go directly to TNC’s North Carolina chapter.&nbsp;Productions and personnelThe musical, written and conceived by Bland Simpson and Jim Wann with help from Don Dixon and Jerry Leath Mills, has had many productions around the Carolinas, up and down the East Coast, and from Atlanta to Indianapolis to Calgary in Canada. The original line-up of Coastal Cohorts has carried the show from Key West to Martha’s Vineyard over King Mackerel’s 40-year run. Those players include Don Dixon, bassist, singer-songwriter and renowned record producer of such musical groups as REM, the Smithereens, Marti Jones, Hootie &amp; the Blowfish and more; Bland Simpson, pianist, of the Red Clay Ramblers and Kenan Distinguished Professor of English &amp; Creative Writing at the University of North Carolina; and Jim Wann, guitarist, principal composer-lyricist of Pump Boys &amp; Dinettes, the Broadway hit that was a Tony and Drama Desk Nominee for Best Broadway Musical and winner of the Olivier Award in the U.K. History King Mackerel opened in 1985 at a westside Chapel Hill club called Rhythm Alley (a club occupying a former location of Cat’s Cradle) and has also had successful runs Off-Off-Broadway at the Laurie Beechman Theatre in New York (in 1995 and on numerous other occasions), and at the Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. (1996). The original Cohorts continue to play live shows, so check back here for dates.

King Mackerel and the Blues are Running

Boris formed in 1992 and eventually arrived at the band’s current lineup of Takeshi, Wata, and Atsuo in 1996. &nbsp;In the years since, Boris has tirelessly explored their own rendition of what is heavy through methods entirely their own. Though the depths of their “heaviness” may intensify, their unique musicianship defies classification in any one genre or style, so let’s just call it real “heavy music” in extreme color. Their music has been called a “game changer” regarding the leading edge of the world’s rock scene, and that influence is limitless. They enter realms that cannot be described simply in terms of the “explosive sound” or “thunderous roars” that have become their trademark.

Boris: Pink 20th Anniversary Tour

<h3>October 28th:</h3><h3>Time Bank</h3>With Culture Mill and Harry Phillips6pm to 9pm: The Haw River BallroomLocal polymath and green-thumb Harry Phillips wants to start a Time Bank. Building on our last session on Solidarity Economies, what is a Time Bank and how does it work? What is essential for it to be successful and how can you get involved in Saxapahaw? This session will be divided into learning, discussion and the potential for concrete planning around this initiative.

S.G. Goodman returns from the Western Kentucky bottomland with her latest full-length album, Planting by the Signs, Available June 20, 2025 on her very own Slough Water Records via Thirty Tigers. Composed of songs inspired by love, loss, reconciliation, and the aforementioned ancient practice. Eleven tracks highlighted by the critically-acclaimed and award-winning artist’s singular voice and her penchant for juxtaposing vulnerable folk music with punchy rock ‘n roll, replete with chiming guitars, ethereal atmospherics, and her DIY ethos. Goodman provides a timely reminder that the only way forward is together, and that we must always take into account humanity’s dependence on and responsibility to the natural world. Back in the early hours of 2023, Goodman told her late friend Mike Harmon and his wife Therese that she wanted to base her next album around the concept of planting by the signs, which she had heard about growing up, and recently rediscovered while reading a volume of Foxfire. She remembered general points from her rural southern childhood - how planting a garden, or weaning a baby, or getting a haircut are best timed in accordance with the cycle of the moon. A concept diametrically opposed to the tech-obsessed, profit margin-driven mania swirling around her. Through exploring themes related to planting by the signs, Goodman hoped to help herself and others reconcile this jarring disconnect, as well to pass along the story of the practice to her nieces and nephews - the latter being a role she took very seriously. &nbsp; But it wasn’t an easy path to writing Planting by the Signs or to the recording studio. 2023 saw the passing of her beloved dog, Howard, as well as the tragic death of Harmon, a father figure and mentor. Mike was mentioned in Goodman’s song, “Red Bird Morning” on Old Time Feeling, her debut. Her band used to practice in the quonset hut behind his house. He would check on her house while she toured. Often, Goodman would call him for advice from the road. A few days before he died, he advised her about putting chains on her van during a snow storm. He once drove that same van from Boston to Chicago so the band could play a one-off in the middle of a tour. He was a rock for Goodman, and a rock star in his own right. Harmon’s death led to Goodman reconciling with her longtime collaborator and guitarist, Matthew Rowan, who had become estranged from her following a year of grueling live shows in 2021. Rowan and Goodman had met in their early 20s while at college in the Murray, KY, indie rock scene, and eventually began playing music together. His idiosyncratic guitar work became an essential part of her production. He wrote most of the guitar parts on her first two records, and their creative relationship stretched for nearly 10 years. But life on the road isn’t for all, one thing led to another, and Rowan decided to step away. After Harmon passed, Matt was one of the first people Goodman called. From there they began to mend their relationship, and eventually, once she started working on her new album, S.G. asked Rowan to be her co-producer. The album would not exist in its current form without their reconciliation.&nbsp; With over 150 performances on the books in ‘23, including headlining sold out tours and opening for the likes of Tyler Childers and Jason Isbell from Red Rocks to the Grand Ole’ Opry, there was also little time for songwriting, much less recording.

S.G. Goodman

Folk’s modern muse Jensen McRae has revealed the release date for her highly anticipated sophomore album, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me!, scheduled to drop on April 25 via Dead Oceans.&nbsp;Set against the backdrop of heartbreak, self-discovery, and the complexities of love, I Don’t Know How But They Found Me! is a bold evolution for the young artist. The eleven-track album, recorded in North Carolina with Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver) and featuring contributions from Nathan Stocker (Hippo Campus), Matthew McCaughan (Bon Iver), and her brother Holden McRae, is a vibrant collection of songs anchored by razor-sharp lyrics and timeless pop melodies.McRae’s voice is as versatile as her songwriting—wispy and textured at times, clear and bright at others. It’s a voice that embodies both the heartbreak of being left and the strength of doing the leaving. The album’s title, inspired by a line from Back to the Future, reflects McRae’s resilience: “I could’ve easily collapsed beneath the weight of what happened to me, but I didn’t. I was bulletproof the whole time.”Following the release of her latest album, Jensen McRae will embark on an extensive North American and European/UK tour in Spring 2025, bringing her signature blend of raw lyricism and soulful melodies to stages across the globe. The North American leg kicks off on May 3 in Philadelphia, PA, with stops in major cities like New York, Toronto, Chicago, and Los Angeles. In June, McRae will take her evocative storytelling overseas for a string of shows across Europe, with dates in Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Dublin, Glasgow, Manchester, and Bristol. General public tickets go on sale Friday, February 28, at 10 AM local time at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="http://jensenmcrae.com">jensenmcrae.com</a>At just 27, Jensen McRae has already toured with Noah Kahan, MUNA, Amos Lee, and Corinne Bailey Rae, graced a Times Square billboard, and served as the cover of Spotify’s Today’s Singer-Songwriters playlist. A graduate of USC’s Thornton School of Music and a GRAMMY Camp alum, McRae is carving out space for young Black women in the folk genre with unflinching honesty and raw lyricism.She released her debut album, Are You Happy Now?, in 2022, featuring viral singles like “Immune” and “Wolves,” has earned widespread acclaim from The New York Times, Rolling Stone, Vulture, UPROXX, NY Post, Billboard, and &nbsp;Stereogum. She’s been spotlighted in PAPER, DORK and&nbsp; Wonderland Magazine, with the latter declaring, “The future is just beginning for Jensen McRae.” Of her most recent work with “Massachusetts,” NYLON praised her candid storytelling: “Listening to Jensen McRae almost feels too personal, as if every lyric was not just a line in a song, but an unraveling of her innermost thoughts.”Inspired by the likes of Joni Mitchell and Tracy Chapman, McRae’s voice—both literal and lyrical—resonates deeply, personifying the human experience with rare vulnerability and grace. With a sound that blends introspection and artistry, she’s an artist who’s here to stay.

Jensen McRae

THIS IS A STANDING ROOM SHOW.Join us on Thursday, October 23rd at the Haw River Ballroom for “Music for Mental Health,” presented by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://begoodtoyourselfmusic.com/">Be Good to Yourself - Mental Health for North Carolina musicians</a>. BGTY is an organization focused on bringing free or greatly discounted mental health and addiction counseling and treatment for North Carolina musicians, venue and studio workers and their families.We are thrilled to announce that <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.theconnells.com/">the Connells</a>, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://theromanspring.bandcamp.com/">the Roman Spring</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://theveldtmusic.bandcamp.com/">the Veldt</a> have agreed to play!Be Good to Yourself started in late 2019, we have since partnered with <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://simsfoundation.org/">The SIMS Foundation</a> and <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://backline.care/">Backline</a> to start serving the NC music community.Backline is a national organization focused on mental&nbsp;health + music and already has a network of providers in place to start serving the music community across North Carolina.This event is the culmination of six years of work, fundraising, event organization and a lot of love.We are very excited to make the formal announcement that we can finally start providing the mental health and addiction care our North Carolina musicians, venue and studio workers and their families deserve. And as early as January, 2026!

The Veldt, The Connells & The Roman Spring

THIS IS A STANDING ROOM SHOW.Music has always loomed large in the life of Don Was. Born in Detroit in 1952, he has enjoyed a multi-faceted career as a musician, record producer, music director, film composer, documentary filmmaker, and radio host. Since 2011, he has also served as President of America’s venerated jazz label, Blue Note Records.&nbsp;As a record producer, he has won six Grammy Awards, including Album of the Year in 1989 for Bonnie Raitt’s Nick of Time and Producer of the Year in 1994. Albums he has produced have sold close to 100 million copies for a wide array of artists such as The Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, Willie Nelson, John Mayer, Ringo Starr, Wayne Shorter, The B-52s, and Charles Lloyd. In 1995, he produced and directed the Brian Wilson documentary I Just Wasn’t Made For These Times, which won the San Francisco Film Festival’s Golden Gate Award. As a film composer, he received the 1994 British Academy Award (BAFTA) for Best Original Score for the film Backbeat. He also won the 2014 Emmy Award for Outstanding Music Direction for CBS’s The Beatles: The Night That Changed America.&nbsp;In 2018, Don joined Grateful Dead guitarist Bob Weir to form the Wolf Brothers, a band that continues to tour in the U.S. and overseas. In April 2023, he served as Music Director for Willie Nelson’s 90th birthday celebration at the Hollywood Bowl, and he is featured in the Willie Nelson &amp; Family documentary on Paramount+. In September 2024, he was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Americana Music Foundation at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. He also hosts Dinner With Don Was, a weekly radio show on John Mayer’s SiriusXM Channel 14.&nbsp;At Blue Note Records, Don fiercely protects the label’s 85-year-old legacy, meticulously preserving its revered catalog of Black American Music. His work includes overseeing acclaimed vinyl reissue series such as Tone Poet and Classic Vinyl, as well as signing and producing many of the label’s current artists, including Robert Glasper, Charles Lloyd, Wayne Shorter, Dr. Lonnie Smith, Gregory Porter, and Jason Moran.&nbsp;Don’s deep Detroit roots keep him closely tied to the city. For the past 15 years, he has music-directed and played bass in the Don Was Detroit All-Star Revue, part of Detroit’s annual diversity festival, the Concert of Colors. From 2009 to 2012, he hosted The Motor City Hayride on SiriusXM’s Outlaw Country channel, and since 2021 he has co-hosted The Don Was Motor City Playlist, a live weekly show on Detroit’s NPR station WDET-FM. Don is also the voice of Neville the Dog in the hit Amazon Prime Video children’s series Pete the Cat.&nbsp;THE PAN-DETROIT ENSEMBLE Don Was’ latest group, The Pan-Detroit Ensemble, features top-tier jazz musicians from his hometown. “There’s a unique sound and feel to Detroit that permeates the music in a way that resonates all over the globe,” says Was. “There’s a rawness, a lack of pretension, and an unmistakable underlying groove that reflects the people and culture of the entire city.”&nbsp;The band includes longtime collaborators such as Blue Note artist Dave McMurray on saxophone and Eminem’s Oscar-winning collaborator, keyboardist Luis Resto.

Don Was and the Pan-Detroit Ensemble

<h3>October 15th:</h3><h3>Solidarity Economies</h3>With Culture Mill with members of Haw River Assembly and Triangle Mutual Aid6pm to 9pm: The Haw River BallroomAre the systems of care and resource distribution (economies) upheld by our larger society the only option? What kinds of alternative systems have thrived, particularly at a local level? How are these ideas being put into practice right now in Saxapahaw or elsewhere? How can these systems allow for greater collective care, stronger relationships, more abundance and deeper resilience as neighbors? How can we deepen such practice together? This embodied program is open to all, and will be divided between facilitated learning, reflecting and exchange.

This is a seated show.&nbsp;Patty Griffin is among the most consequential singer-songwriters of her generation, a quintessentially American artist whose wide-ranging canon incisively explores the intimate moments and universal emotions that bind us together. Over two decades, the 2x GRAMMY® Award winner – and 7x nominee – and Americana Music Association Lifetime Achievement award winner, has crafted a remarkable body of work in progress that prompted the New York Times to hail her for “[writing] cameo-carved songs that create complete emotional portraits of specific people...[her] songs have independent lives that continue in your head when the music ends.” 2019 saw the acclaimed release of the renowned artist’s GRAMMY® Award-winning 10th studio recording, PATTY GRIFFIN. One of the most deeply personal recordings of Griffin’s remarkable two-decade career and first-ever eponymous LP, PATTY GRIFFIN made a top 5 debut on Billboard’s “Independent Albums” chart amidst unprecedented worldwide acclaim, and later, a prestigious GRAMMY® Award for “Best Folk Album.” Griffin’s new album, CROWN OF ROSES, is a deeply personal and introspective work that explores themes of identity, nature, family, and womanhood. Emerging from a creative drought during the pandemic, Griffin found herself re-evaluating the stories she’d long told herself. The result is an eight-track collection that is both sparse and emotionally rich, blending folk, Americana, and blues. With CROWN OF ROSES, Griffin offers a record that’s both grounded and transcendent — one that invites listeners to release old narratives, embrace new truths, and stay truly alive while they’re here. Having crafted a rich catalog that chronicles love and death, heartache and joy, connection and detachment, Patty Griffin continues to push her art forward, as always imbuing every effort with compassion and craft, uncanny perception, and ever-increasing ingenuity.&nbsp;Rickie Lee Jones is an American musician and storyteller who has been inspiring pop culture for decades, beginning with her first two seminal albums, Rickie Lee Jones and Pirates. Named the “premiere song-stylist and songwriter of her generation” (New Yorker), the two-time Grammy winner will release her first all jazz album in April 2023, produced by Russ Titelman. In 2021, Jones released her celebrated memoir Last Chance Texaco, named Book of the Year by MOJO and a Best Book of the Year at Pitchfork and NPR. The Independent writes, “There has always been something defiant about Rickie Lee Jones . . . a voice from a dream, elusive yet familiar, transcendent, a messenger from another place.”&nbsp;

An Evening with Patty Griffin and Rickie Lee Jones

Sleepy Cat Records is thrilled to be joining The Haw River Ballroom again in presenting our 4th Annual Sleepy Fest in the beloved community of Saxapahaw, NC on October 11th, 2025! Sleepy Fest provides an important platform for emerging North Carolina-based artists, creates opportunities for our community to connect, and helps raise the funds we rely on to stay in operation. We take pride in using Sleepy Fest as a platform to promote the social justice work that is already happening in our community as well as the kind of thoughtful work we hope to encourage moving forward - including but not limited to racial and environmental justice, anti-colonial/imperialist organizing and discourse for non-western nations, and queer representation/platforming.The day will kick off with free-to-the-public performances at the Haywagon Stage and&nbsp; Artisan Market in the spirit of the long-running Saturdays in Saxapahaw series. Ticket holders will have access to the main festival grounds near the Ballroom, enjoying performances between the Haywagon Stage, Ballroom Main Stage, and the Amphitheater. In addition to the shops in town, we’ll have food and beverage vendors, as well special programming by participating local businesses.As in Sleepy Fest’s past, you can expect a diverse lineup of Sleepy Cat and other artists and one-time collaborations and improvisations. We’re planning visual installations and other non-music arts elements similar to last year’s quadraphonic performances, projections by dance artist Brooks Emanuel and Dye Vat DJs, as well as our Vendor and Artisan Market, Kids Zone, and more! We believe that this event will once again bring a day of joy and music-immersion to attendees, and will continue to foster a deeper appreciation for the wealth of culture and community in our area.<h1>Lineup</h1>This year’s festival will feature a blend of performances from our Sleepy Cat Artists as well as non-label artists and friends. So far the lineup includes folk, oldtime, americana, cumbia, immersive electronic, a drag show, a puppet show, twangy punk rock, and more:Alice Gerrard, Made of Oak, Hard Drive, Joseph Terrell, Magic Al DJ set, Stormie Daie, Josh Moore, Quran Karriem, Delver, Lonnie Walker, Trippers &amp; Askers, Slow Teeth, Kill the Buddha, Stella Rosalie Rosen, Sugaree String Society, Heron Toe, Quilla, Ancestor Piratas, Brooks Emanuel, and more to be announced!<h1>Arts &amp; Makers Market</h1>This year’s market will be located at Saxapahaw’s Haywagon Stage, home of the long running and family-friendly Saturdays in Saxapahaw. In keeping with that spirit, we will kick off Sleepy Fest with a free/open-to-the-public show and market from 11am-430pm. Our ticketed experience will then run from 2pm-10pm at the main festival grounds between the Ballroom and Amphitheater. Exact schedule subject to changeSignup to be a market vendor -&nbsp; coming soon.<h1>Food &amp; Bev</h1>There will be food and beverage vendors to enjoy all day, including coffee, alcoholic and NA beverages, and vegan food options.Full food &amp; bev vendor list coming soon.*You’re welcome to bring your own food items if you have specific dietary preferences, though we encourage you to purchase food onsite from our great vendors and local businesses.<h1>Schedule</h1>11am-430pm Free Arts Market &amp; Show at Haywagon Stage2pm-10pm Ticketed access to festival grounds - Ballroom &amp; AmphitheaterExact schedule subject to change<h1>»TICKET INFO«</h1>TICKET SALES STOP AT 12PM DAY-OF FEST, OCTOBER 11thAND WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DOOR<h1>General Admission</h1><ul><li>Adult - $49.50</li><li>Kids 6-12 - $22</li><li>Kids 0-5 - FREE</li></ul>General Admission tickets provide access to the festival grounds for all programming from 2pm-10am, where you’ll enjoy feature performances between the Ballroom and Amphitheater, Haywagon and Art Market, DJ sets, vendors and other special programming.*Early Bird is scheduled to end June 1st<h1>Volunteer</h1>SIGNUP OPENS AUGUSTOur volunteers play a big role in making Sleepy Fest what it is. Volunteer for one shift (approx 3 hours) in exchange for free entry to Sleepy Fest. Volunteers are assigned on a first-come, first-serve basis, and early signups receive first choice of preferred shifts. <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sleepycatrec.com/join-newslitter">Sign up for the Sleepy Cat NewsLitter</a> to get first access<h1>Extra Donations</h1>Feeling extra giving? Make stand-alone or add-on donations in $5 increments.Your extra donation will go towards:<ul><li>Our sliding scale program, subsidizing affordable tickets, and helping make Sleepy Fest more accessible</li><li>Funding our label projects for 2025, should we have surplus beyond the above mentioned priorities</li><li>Paying event staff and performers bonuses above base pay</li></ul><h2 style="text-align: center">Thanks so much!</h2>More information and contact info at:<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sleepycatrec.com/sleepyfest"> </a><a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.sleepycatrec.com/join-newslitter">https://www.sleepycatrec.com/sleepyfest</a>Follow us on IG<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.instagram.com/sleepyfest/"> @sleepyfest</a> to stay in the loop as we roll things out

Sleepy Fest

This is a standing room only show.Atlas was a pretty big record for us, and chances are if you’re reading this, it’s a pretty big record for you too. Nobody ever said, “I love Real Estate, but I hate their third LP, Atlas.” And if they did say that, they never said it anywhere around us - and we read everything you guys write on the internet; some of it can get pretty weird. And so, on this momentous occasion, we will be bringing A CELEBRATION OF ATLAS to a city near you, to honor its 11 year and 7 month anniversary. We’ll be playing almost the entire album in its entirety (basically) and other lesser known tunes from the Atlas era. We’llalso be playing a selection of our greatest hits, because we know you love those too. Please come and celebrate with us - we can’t wait to see you.

Real Estate

Bad Suns are embracing everything that’s possible. On their joyous fifth album, fittingly titled Accelerator, the Los Angeles trio are taking stock of everything they’ve been through together as a band and pushing into a bright future with a renewed sense of purpose. Together since 2012, Christo Bowman (vocals/guitar), Gavin Bennett (bass) and Miles Morris (drums) started playing together as teenagers and went viral almost immediately with their magnetic blend of indie-rock and ‘80s synth sheen. After four hit albums, the trio reached a point where they needed to recalibrate and recenter if they wanted to continue. Recording their exuberant 2023 EP Infinite Joy was a cleansing experience that recalibrated Bad Suns and set them on a thrilling path forward into making Accelerator, which comprises 12 new tracks brimming with dance-pop hooks and poignant lessons learned.&nbsp; &nbsp;“We saw the Infinite Joy EP as a new beginning for the band. I felt this yearning once again,” reflects Christo Bowman. “Accelerator being our fifth album, our first studio album as a trio, and the first album of my 30s, we knew that this was going to be really important. We didn't want to take that lightly. We asked ourselves, how do we live up to the occasion? We saw this album as a mountain we wanted to climb.”In planning their elevation, Bad Suns reconnected with their go-to producer Eric Palmquist (Tate McRae, Half Alive), who also helmed their 2014 debut Language &amp; Perspective, plus follow-ups Disappear Here (2016) and Apocalypse Whenever (2022). Going into recording Accelerator, Eric encouraged Bad Suns to channel their sense of renewal into an energetic sonic direction they’d tapped into before, but never quite to this extent. “One of the first times we sat down with Eric, we were talking about what we'd all been vibing with. He said point blank, ‘It would be really cool to mess around with some ‘90s house-inspired music. Right away, the light bulb went off for me. I'd wanted to push in that direction forever.”While tracks like the previously released “Communicating,” anthemic opener “Slow Karma,” the pulsing “Why Am I Like This,” and the shimmering club cut “Just Like Magic” reveal a riveting pop turn for the band, Accelerator is still steeped in the original DNA that made Bad Suns a feel-good viral sensation with early hits like “Cardiac Arrest.” The rushing pop melodies mirror Accelerator’s title, but its lyrics are filled with stop-and-think moments where Christo surveys his past actions and makes the intentional choice to embrace personal growth and impending fatherhood.“My 20s were a challenging time with a lot of peaks and a lot of valleys,” he says. “There's a lot of joy, a lot of mistakes. This album is ultimately about finding the strength within yourself to assess the damage that's been done and make the changes that you need to in order to take control of your own life, kind of reckoning with the fact that you can't control the external circumstances. I can't control the world around me, but I can control the way that I react to the events taking place and the way that I move through the world.”The hook-packed gem “Slow Karma” acts as Christo’s mission statement for Accelerator. An intimate and cathartic track, the album opener finds Christo at a personal and professional crossroads as he confronts old habits and makes the decision to become sober. “I was at a point in my life where it was becoming abundantly clear to me that I needed to make some changes in order to progress and live the life that I really wanted,” Christo says. “Getting sober is really hard, but then it becomes the easiest thing in the world. ‘Slow Karma’ is about accepting that this is gonna be difficult. And I don't know exactly what's ahead, but I know this is the direction I'm supposed to be moving down.”The sparkling “Mystery Girl” signifies another crossroads as Christo, in a diaristic stream of consciousness, remembers his coming-of-age years while facing the inertia of fatherhood. “There's this beautiful new chapter in my life unfolding, and there's mixed emotions that come with it,” he says. “This is a song about my teenage years, past relationships and experiences, and being a young person who is ultimately just looking for love.”Christo is equally unafraid to imagine what would have happened had he not made a series of positive changes. On the urgent, electropop banger “Back To Zero,” the singer envisions an alternate reality without Bad Suns or his wife and partner of 13 years and arrives at a place of heart-bursting gratitude for everything he has and the future that lies ahead.&nbsp;“I didn't want this record to be too self-help-oriented, but I did want every song, one way or another, to relate some wisdom I’ve gained,” Christo says. “By imagining myself alone in an apartment, my wife long gone — my life very easily could have looked like that. I’ve learned how important it is, as the lyrics say, to ‘find the beauty in what's painful,’ and love every moment for what it is.”As Bad Suns move into their latest era, one filled with exciting personal and professional milestones, they’ve never been more harmoniously aligned. “While making this album, I turned 30, I got married, I found out I was having a kid. Going to the studio every day and being in the room with the guys, I had this sense that I'm going to look back and know that was probably one of the best times of my life.”

Bad Suns

Stop by Cup 22 at Haw River Ballroom between 10am-2pm to pick up Narcan and other life saving tools!

Save a Life Day

Practice Forward: Resilient . Creative . Communities&nbsp;is a new workshop series curated and framed by <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.culturemill.org/">Culture Mill</a>.&nbsp;We believe that a community of practice cultivates a community of care -- Grounding in the body, this series explores a range of topics through embodied practice. The series' aim is to support community resilience and strengthen community connective tissue, enabling us, individually and collectively, to respond to uncertainty and crisis from the place of practice rather than reactivity. This series insists that creativity and embodiment are key to building resilient communities. Culture Mill's Fall 2025 series is provided in partnership with the Haw River Ballroom. Next Up:Join us September 23 at 6PM at the Haw River Ballroom for Processing Chantal: Embodied Integration of the FloodJust two months following Chantal, and during the one year anniversary of Helene and 20th anniversary of Katrina, there is much to grieve, be with, move through, and welcome in as we collectively experience climate crisis. Culture Mill will facilitate a space to a broad community in which we can share and hear personal stories and will offer a series of embodied practices to help us integrate personal and shared experiences, learn body-centered tools, and initiate communities of practice that build towards creative and responsive resilience.This offering is FREE, but please pre-register!

Processing Chantal

With their hypnotic rhythms and mesmerizing vocals, Stereolab became one of indie's most distinctive and influential bands when they emerged in the early '90s. Led by Tim Gane and Laetitia Sadier, the group celebrated strands of pop music -- bossa nova, lounge-pop, movie soundtracks -- that were traditionally banished from rock's lineage. On early singles and albums such as 1993's Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements, Stereolab combined '60s pop melodies with an art rock aesthetic borrowed from Krautrock bands like Faust and Neu!; by the time of 1996's Emperor Tomato Ketchup, their sound incorporated jazz, hip-hop, and dance music. Their work with John McEntire and Jim O'Rourke on 1997's Dots and Loops and 2001's Sound-Dust reflected an increasingly intricate, experimental approach, but following the 2002 death of member Mary Hansen, they eventually returned to a poppier style on albums like 2008's Chemical Chords. Stereolab's unmistakable sound had a lasting impact: Contemporaries like Pavement and Blur aped their style in the '90s, while hip-hop artists such as J Dilla and Tyler the Creator sampled the band's music or collaborated with its members in the 2000s and 2010s. Late in that decade and into the 2020s, Stereolab's revival as a touring band and a steady stream of reissues underscored their reputation as innovators. Tim Gane (born July 12, 1964; guitar, keyboards) was the leader of McCarthy, a London-based band from the late '80s that functioned as a prototype for Stereolab's sound. Gane met Laetitia Sadier (born May 6, 1968; vocals, keyboards), a French-born vocalist, at one of McCarthy's concerts. The pair began a romantic relationship that became a musical collaboration after McCarthy disbanded in 1990; Sadier sang on the final McCarthy album. The duo began recording as Stereolab, borrowing the name from Vanguard Records' hi-fi effects division in the '50s. Gane and Sadier also formed the label Duophonic Records with manager Martin Pike to release their singles. Stereolab's first year of existence was prolific: The debut EP Super 45 arrived in May 1991, followed quickly by the Super-Electric EP that September and the Stunning Debut Album EP that November. At that point, the group were working with Th' Faith Healers drummer Joe Dilworth and former Chills bassist Martin Kean; Gina Morris occasionally provided backup vocals. Too Pure released the band's first full-length, Peng!, in May 1992, and the EP compilation Switched On in October. As with all of the group's releases from this era, both albums featured the visual trademark of a maniacally grinning cartoon taken from a '70s Swiss political comic (which the band named "Cliff"). That year, Stereolab also issued the Lo-Fi EP and added keyboardist/vocalist Mary Hansen and drummer Andy Ramsay to the fold. Released in early 1993, Stereolab's The Groop Played "Space Age Bachelor Pad Music" EP featured the core group of Gane, Sadier, Hansen, and Ramsay, along with ex-Microdisney guitarist Sean O'Hagan and bassist Duncan Brown. One of the first '90s alternative records to explicitly draw from the "Space Age" lounge-pop music of the '50s, The Groop became an underground sensation, paving the way toward Stereolab's first American record contract with Elektra Records. Their next album, and first American release, was Transient Random-Noise Bursts with Announcements. Released in August 1993, it became an underground and college hit throughout the U.S. and U.K. They followed it that October with Crumb Duck, a split EP with Nurse with Wound.&nbsp;

Stereolab

Expertly crafted songs and sublime musicianship are the backbone of Nashville-based band The Brook &amp; The Bluff. Originally from Birmingham, AL, the band’s name is derived from the pockets of Birmingham where they grew up—Bluff Park for frontman Joseph Settine, and Mountain Brook for drummer John Canada, keyboardist Kevin Canada, and guitarist Alec Bolton.&nbsp;&nbsp;Their latest release, This Could All Go Nowhere, follows the success of their compelling debut First Place and their sophomore album Yard Sale, which features the anthemic "Halfway Up" alongside fan favorites like "Everything Is Just a Mess," "Shelby," and "Misnomer." Their third record, Bluebeard, further cemented their reputation for heartfelt songwriting and dynamic sound. As with all their previous work, the band continues to captivate audiences, creating music that resonates with fans across the world.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Building on their evolving sound, The Brook &amp; The Bluff once again teamed up with longtime collaborator Micah Tawlks (COIN,Jake Wesley Rogers) to record This Could All Go Nowhere. The EP features standout tracks like "Bad Bad News" and "Calling Cards," showcasing the band’s intricate harmonies and inventive arrangements. The record explores themes of fear and emotional paralysis—all wrapped in upbeat, infectious melodies.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Known for their energetic live performances, The Brook &amp; The Bluff have built a strong touring foundation,headlining sold-out shows in major markets and supporting acts like Mt. Joy, Ashe, Stephen Sanchez, and Rainbow Kitten Surprise. With 2025 on the horizon, the band is poised for an even bigger year, setting the stage for an exciting new chapter.

The Brook & the Bluff

This is a standing room show.Hayes Carll isn’t preaching or teaching. He’s not interested in telling the rest of us what to do or think. But he is charting out a personal guide for his life, quieting the noise, and sitting with his real voice – the one that’s candid, consistent, and often inconvenient.We’re Only Human is Carll’s tenth album. Like his best lyrics, it is also an understated masterpiece, an honest snapshot of one man’s confrontation and delight with humanity’s biggest and most intimate questions. Where do we find forgiveness for ourselves and grace for others? How do we hold on to peace of mind and stay present? What can we—and should we––trust? And how can we moor ourselves to, well, ourselves, in the midst of confusing, trying times? We’re Only Human offers audiences the chance to listen to Carll as he listens to himself.“I’ve lived outside of myself for so long,” Carll admits. “Distractions, fear, anxiety, insecurity, and the complexity of being human in this world have so often pulled me away from being present or at peace.”“I feel like there’s been a voice riding shotgun all my life, pushing me to do better, but I’ve struggled to listen to it,” Carll says. “The idea behind this record was to do the personal work I needed to do, then codify those lessons in song to serve as sort of breadcrumbs to get me back on the trail if, and inevitably when, I get lost again.”Carll is more than two decades into a celebrated career. Praise from places such as Pitchfork and the New York Times––the latter of which yoked Carll’s ability to tackle tough issues with wry humor to Bob Dylan––punctuate a resume that includes Americana Music Awards and a Grammy nomination. His songs aren’t safe, but many of Nashville’s stars have recorded them, including Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, and Brothers Osborne. As a solo recording artist, Carll has long-since established himself as one of Americana’s most-played––and most loved––voices. His warm but crackling vocals, wit, and heart dance through wordplay that’s always clever, and never too precious. Through it all, whenever Carll points a finger, it’s most often at himself.As We’re Only Human collects moments of Carll figuring out how to be with himself, the songs feel forthright, hopeful, and timely. In today’s onslaught of instant gratification, rage-baiting headlines, glorified intolerance, and falling empathy, the record is a startling outlier: an artist’s raw, real-life effort to live well—both with himself and others. Carll embraces private epiphanies, and shares them with the world, allowing them to unfold for all to see and share.Of course, We’re Only Human is also art. So while appreciating the motivation and compelling themes driving it will underpin the listener’s experience, Carll’s album also matters because of the sheer brilliance of its execution. These are songs composed by a writer’s writer, wielding his considerable skill with precision and beauty.The album’s title track unfolds with plaintive piano and a mantle of grace. Carll sings, with a calming sincerity, “We’ll do most anything to avoid the pain / Hiding our hearts and casting the blame / 6,000 tongues, but we’re all the same / Ain’t no need to carry that shame / ‘Cause we’re only human.”Hard-won minutes of quiet clarity inspired some of the record’s most beautiful moments. Accented by bright mandolin and soft, simple percussion, “Stay Here a While” captures a peaceful reprieve from a racing mind. “I remember sitting on the couch, looking out the window, watching the birds do their thing,” Carll says with a laugh. “I got lost in their lives for a moment, and it was such a wonderful feeling because my mind is always going in circles, seeking excitement, and frankly, just thinking about myself. I enjoyed the peace I felt in that moment and I thought, this is lovely and I’d like to stay in this place.” Carll shared that takeaway with MC Taylor, aka Hiss Golden Messenger, who not only could relate, but helped finish the song.“High” offers another invitation to stop and breathe. Opening with a solo horn, flute, and stripped down piano, the track is lovely and sincere, with Carll’s signature humor hovering comfortably nearby. There are also times when Carll’s sharp wit comes roaring to the foreground. “Progress of Man (Bitcoin and Cattle)” sends up society’s disorienting––and conflicting––forces, while “Good People (Thank Me)” is a masterclass in comedic timing, stubborn humanism, and the untapped potential of gratitude.A dogged insistence on acceptance, both of one’s self and others, courses through the album— as does Carll’s determination to hold himself accountable. “If I’m judging others, then I’m not having to look at myself,” Carll says. “I’m flawed as hell, judgmental, and critical of myself and those around me. That’s a loop that feeds itself. But I figure If I can look at myself clear-eyed and acknowledge my own shortcomings, it might help me have some grace and acceptance for myself and others.”It’s that sort of harmonious duality––embracing one’s self and confessing one’s own mistakes––that solidifies the record’s big-hearted honesty. “The creative process was in large part a self-therapy session. I don’t think that would work if I was only looking at everyone else’s issues,” Carll says.A moving series of grounding vignettes, realizations, and self-love roll through “What I Will Be,” as Carll promises to not compromise himself to fit in. A slow-burning, blues-tinged standout, “I Got Away with It” is painful and gorgeous. Brimming with hope, “One Day” balances the work Carll sees as necessary with the certainty that satisfaction, contentment, and peace are reachable by trusting in yourself and the universe.Featuring a parade of Carll’s longtime friends, album closer “May I Never” is a plea to himself. As Ray Wylie Hubbard, Shovels &amp; Rope, Darrell Scott, Nicole Atkins, and The Band of Heathens’ Gordy Quist and Ed Jurdi each take verses, listeners are swept up in a resolute promise to keep after good. “It brings up a lot for me when I hear them singing those lines,” Carll says. Each of those people – whether they know it or not – have played a part in my story, and it’s gratifying and humbling to me to have them lend their voices to this song.”In the end, Carll’s latest album is a lovingly and purposefully written collection of reminders. “I hope other people find something in it, too” Carll says. “Through it all, I am trying to stay appreciative, knowing that I did what I set out to do: write something that can help me navigate this journey with a little more grace and peace.”

Hayes Carll

On their self-titled debut album, Fancy Gap–the duo of singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb (The Love Language) and songwriter/producer Charles Crossingham–takes listeners on a journey that steers through life’s melodies with windows down. It’s a country-tinged, radio-ready sound, yet delves deep into universal themes. From stirring reflections on death and aging to the joyous celebrations of life, love, and triumph, every track on Fancy Gap captures different facets of the human experience. With a twang evoking the heartland and a widescreen perspective hinting at something greater, McLamb and Crossingham explore poignant moments of laughter and loss, enduring bonds of friendship, and the ups and downs of relationships.&nbsp;McLamb has always been a heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter–one that’s also a traveler, tourer, hand-holder, relationship whisperer, and chronicler of beginnings and endings–and the bittersweetness that courses through The Love Language’s four albums is a voyage worth all the heartbreak. As he began working on the band’s fifth album in early 2020, McLamb took some early demos to Crossingham, whom he had known for nearly a decade but became closer with after moving back to Raleigh, North Carolina, that March. The pandemic struck in the midst of feeling out those early ideas; the two sheltered in Crossingham’s mountain cabin in Fancy Gap, Virginia, and questions of what life would look like when the world started over seeped into their late-night songwriting sessions. What began as a producer/artist collaboration blossomed into a close-knit co-writing project, rooted in Crossingham’s inspired belief and admiration in McLamb’s talents, and the musical kinship that the two had forged.As the tracks were fleshed out, a collective idea of song and place became entwined in how the two wanted these compositions to sound and feel. “Charles and I wanted to make an album that sounded like the music we wanted to hear. It just so happens that at the time we were listening to a lot of classic '90s radio rock and a lot of classic country radio 98.1 WBRF out of Galax, VA,” McLamb explains. Fancy Gap was born. “Over the next two years,” he adds. "We hustled through odd jobs to keep our heads above water while dedicating ourselves to crafting the best songs we could.” The music took shape during recording sessions at the cabin, as well as impromptu jam sessions where Crossingham played guitar and McLamb handled drums and vocals. "The lockdown had us feeling cooped up, so we just let loose and rocked out. Making music with a friend like that was a blast—it took me back to the early days of jamming in my parents' garage with my younger brother," McLamb recalls fondly. They would then refine their best ideas at the Fancy Gap cabin, utilizing a portable rack unit of Quad Eight preamps. "Many of the lead vocals were captured in the moment, often on the first or second take," he says.&nbsp;Reaching out to fellow artists and musicians became a priority as their excitement around the music continued to grow, and also felt like the thread to sew together the fabric of life after lockdown. “During the pandemic, we–and a lot of our artist friends who were struggling–needed a belief that there would be a light at the end of this,” Crossingham explained. “As the songs began to come together, we wanted to open our tent, and ask some of those friends and artists we respected to be a part of Fancy Gap with us.” As such, the album features masterful contributions from Sharon Van Etten (vocals on “Strawberry Moon”); Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara (vocals on “Filthy Habits”); Rami Jaffee (The Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers) on the Hammond B3 organ and Wurlitzer; acclaimed session guitarist Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Mountain Goats, Etta James); and Jon Graboff on pedal steel ( Willie Nelson, Noel Gallagher, M. Ward, Norah Jones). Fancy Gap was finalized over five sessions with Grammy-award-winning engineer Craig Alvin (‘Album of the Year’ Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour), who mixed the album at Noble Steed Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.&nbsp;As McLamb’s timeless voice leads the way–all classic pop timbre and heart swells, casting notes toward the sky–the songs explore love found (“Little Heart Racer”) and love lost (“Diamond Cutter”), the passing of loved ones (“Magnolias”), and hazy dreams and addictions of all kinds (“Old Ways”). The album pulses with a front porch phrasing and tempos that echoes the mountain locale of its recording; “How to Dance” and “Little Heart Racer” swing with a breezy roadhouse exuberance countered by the sweet melancholy of “Strawberry Moon.” Throughout, Fancy Gap also finds McLamb and Crossingham conjuring the pop leanings of early Counting Crows and The Lemonheads (“Filthy Habits”), the chordal phrasing and harmonies of Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills &amp; Nash (“Whispering Winds”), the stadium-sized sing-along choruses of The Wallflowers (“40,000 Miles”), and the expansive western terrains akin to a more psychedelic Marty Robbins (“Diamond Cutter”).&nbsp;Fancy Gap, for all the genuine emotional resonance it hits lyrically, feels like a hands-in-the-breeze springtime ride at dusk, with a treasure trove of your favorite albums under your seat and nothing in front of you but gravel roads and wistful speed. It’s a musical expedition that transcends the sum of its parts, painting sonic landscapes that linger in the heart and soul. – Roy Bourne, April 2024

Fancy Gap

FREE DANCE PARTY following Boom Unit Brass Unit’s set at Saturdays in Saxapahaw to end the season!

Summer Dance Party Night

It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!<h2>Please note that dogs are NOT allowed, sorry!!</h2>

Boom Unit Brass Band

Meltdown Rodeo

This is an open floor show.Starring:Woody Platt w/ Mike Guggino* Graham Sharp*, and Nicky Sanders*, (*members of the Steep Canyon Rangers) and Songs from the Road Band. Early sets performed by Big Fat Gap and Constant Change followed byWoody, Mike, Graham and Nicky. There will be a hour long dinner break then Songs from the Road and we will close the show with an All Star Jam including members from all bands and more.There will be an all day silent auction offering bids on items such as World Class trout fishing trips, a professional K-9 training class, vintage items, handmade home decor, and more. Winners will be announced before the last set.Food trucks will be available on site as well as the nearby Saxapahaw General Store and The Eddy Pub.Proceeds from this event will go to Holly and Joe Brantley for aid in the expenses of cancer treatment for Holly. To read their full story please visit their website <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://gofund.me/e176bce5">https://gofund.me/e176bce5</a>Amenities for VIP ticket holders include free non-alcoholic beverages, a grazing table, 2 free beer tickets, and band member meet and greets. Friends of the host will also receive VIP status.We look forward to seeing you for an amazing show to help support a wonderful couple for a good cause.

A Blue Grass Spectacular!

It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

John Howie Jr. and the Rosewood Bluff

Delver is a fully improvisedImmersive Quadraphonic ExperiencesAmbient &lt;&gt; Dance<h4 style="text-align: center"></h4>

Delver

This is a seated show.East Forest is a multidisciplinary artist, producer, speaker, and ceremony guide.&nbsp; Since 2008, East Forest’s “lush” (Rolling Stone) and “blissful” (NPR) music has blended ambient, neoclassical, electronic, and avant-pop to explore sound as a tool for inner journeys and consciousness expansion.The project's latest endeavor is "Music for Mushrooms," a feature-length narrative documentary showcasing the transformative power of psychedelics, music, and community.&nbsp; East Forest’s most recent musical release, “Lovingly: A Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner, vol. III” is an immersive long-form live album, over six hours in length, and intended to guide journeys of deep introspection from start to finish.&nbsp; The third volume of his Soundtrack For The Psychedelic Practitioner series, the music was recorded and improvised live inside psilocybin ceremonies facilitated between 2020 and 2024.&nbsp;&nbsp;East Forest's extensive catalog includes over 30 albums and notable collaborations with artists such as Ram Dass, Jon Hopkins, Laraaji, Dead Prez, Nick Mulvey, Peter Broderick, Max Cooper, and DJ ANNA. The project has performed at major festivals and venues internationally.As a trailblazer in meditation and inner resilience, East Forest offers guided meditations, retreats, and a podcast ("Ten Laws w/East Forest").&nbsp; His approach promotes non-religious, accessible spirituality.&nbsp; He's a faculty member at the Esalen Institute and has collaborated with institutions across social justice, mental health, science, music, and creative fields, including Google, Johns Hopkins, UCSF, Stanford, and TED.His work has appeared on Bright Antenna, Domino, Mercury KX, Aquilo, Ghostly, as well as Tender Loving Empire &amp; Universal/Decca. “Life and death and what it all means.” - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.billboard.com/music/features/east-forest-interview-new-album-aaron-rodgers-darkness-retreat-1235465675/">Billboard </a>Interview“It’s just stunning.” - <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/1P7uCh_AkE7-1T980hEzHIB7N58IjfDnt/view?usp=sharing">Bob Boilen</a>, Tiny DeskThe Soul of Choice - East Forest Op-Ed in <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://doubleblindmag.com/east-forest-psychedelic-future">Doubleblind</a> IG @eastforest | FB, YT, TT @eastforestmusic

East Forest

Weirs is a collective of North Carolina musicians who interpolate traditional ballads and hymns through their love of free improvisation, drone, tape music, and deep listening. Through this work they seek not to simply preserve these old songs but use them as a shared lexicon for sonic exploration and the development of new musics rooted in collaboration and collective creation.It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

Weirs

PopUp Chorus Summer Splash! Come celebrate the summer of ‘25 by singing two songs with PopUp Chorus!We’ll sing the all-time harmony rich classic Dreams by Fleetwood Mac and Pink Pony Club by the fizzingly fabulous, Chappell Roan. Come sing your heart out with a room full of people who will soon be your friends, as we create a chorus in a night.What is PopUp Chorus?Ask yourself these questions: Do you like to sing? Have you thought about joining a chorus but are too busy to commit? Do you sing in the shower or in your car? Did you sing in college or school but don’t have an opportunity to now? If you answered "YES!" to any of these questions, then you belong in PopUp Chorus. We’re an ad hoc chorus with no audition or weekly commitment. People turn up when they want to sing and love the song choices. We’re never the same group twice and everyone is welcome, regardless of singing ability. We do not believe bad voices! At this summer PopUp Chorus, co-conductors, Kayla Richardon-Pichè and Carter Hodge, along with a full band, will teach harmonies and parts for both songs. When everyone is ready, we do a dress rehearsal, and end with a final filmed performance. This is your chance to feel the joy of singing with others. It’s easy and fun. All voices and abilities are welcome!&nbsp;

Omar Ruiz-Lopez

Paradise Motel Lounge

Bass Battery

Holland Lagarde and Jasper Ewing are Nonsense. Formed in North Carolina, and now residing in New York and Berlin respectively, the electronic rock duo are not to be trusted around instruments. Their new EP "Office Pop" brings about a softer and more focused sound, releasing January 10th 2025 on Trash Tape Records.

Nonsense and Graham Dickey

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bit.ly/Superbowl25HRB">This is a standing room show.</a>SECTION4 is back! The loudest, most energetic EDM event born inside the walls of the Haw River Ballroom, NC, is making its return this July 12, 7:00 pm! SECTION4 takes the 360º DJ experience to a whole new level. Inspired by the energy of Boiler Room, but built to go beyond it, SECTION4 strips away the VIPs, the egos, the barriers, and gives you the space to be loud, unhinged (in a good way) and whatever you can make yourself to be lol. This time we will feature 4 powerhouse DJs: • Quill (7PM) • Lex Nell (8PM) • Mora Odona x Nick Rosen (9PM)

SECTION4

A songwriter based in North Carolina, Django Haskins has fronted the pop-noir band, The Old Ceremony, since 2004. He also forms one half of the psych-folk duo Au Pair with the Jayhawks' Gary Louris. He has toured. He has been written about. In 2016 he received the NC Arts Council's Artist Grant in recognition of his extensive creative exertions. He has been a part of the traveling circus known as Big Star's Third since its inception in 2011. He has released a thirteen albums of his songs in various guises.SHADOWLAWN began as a series of experimental recordings in his newly built studio, and eventually evolved into a kind of late-summer song cycle full of meditations on death, love, fear, wanderlust, and exploration of interior worlds. The 1966 Nancy Sinatra recording of "Bang Bang" and Angelo Badalamente's work with David Lynch provided sonic touchstones for the album, with their extensive use of negative space and simultaneously lush and spare atmospheres. As twenty-some songs were whittled down to eleven, banjo and baritone guitar alternated with piano in accompanying the unusually exposed vocals, leaving plenty of space for listeners to fill in the spaces with their own imagination.In 2022, Haskins released a pair of self-produced EP’s, Beforetimes 1 &amp; 2, which featured friends Syd Straw, Skylar Gudasz, Phil Cook, and Matt Douglas, bringing a feeling of community to the bedroom folk-pop songs.Haskins has been writing a song a week since the onset of the pandemic, resulting in over 100 new songs and counting.Lost World, out 7.27.23, is the first release of this pandemic body of work, and it’s also Django’s first collection of piano songs. He recorded alone at his Chapel Hill studio, Calvander Sound, bringing in old friend Matt Douglas (Mountain Goats) to add sax on one song, and doing some post-production with the dB’s Chris Stamey. Since the onset of the pandemic he has been writing a song a week as a way of continuing to develop creatively in the face of a complete shutdown of live performances. Even as the world is partially reopened, he’s kept up the practice, currently up to 115 new songs, and from these he selected a coherent group of eight piano songs to form LOST WORLD. The mood is dreamlike, ethereal, and melancholy, a reflection of that difficult period of time. Touchstones included the minimalist work of Erik Satie, the dark theatricality of Kurt Weill, Bill Evans’ harmonic painting, and Sinatra’s thematic albums of the Fifties. It is a record you can put on and sink into like a hot spring, watching the steam rise as you begin to float.&nbsp;Mortality and loss figure heavily in the lyrics, from “Lost World,” which explores the ways that we hold on to our own idealized personal golden ages, to “The Woodpecker,” in which a seeker arrives at their dream city only to find it long abandoned; to “I Dream of Cities,” where the singer “didn’t recognize my neighborhood/they’ve paved over the park.” In fact, the obituary pages provided inspiration for several songs, including “King of Hearts,” the story of a troubled street artist in downtown NYC; “Man in Sea,” a first-person tale of Charles Lindbergh’s surviving son who became a deep sea diver; and “Will There Be Time,” a meditation sparked by the story of late North Carolina architect Phil Freelon and his surviving family. And yet, there is an enveloping comfort in the melodies and soundscapes that balances the dark themes.&nbsp;It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!<h2>Please note that dogs are NOT allowed, sorry!!</h2>

Django Haskins

Join us for Appalachian Square Dancing at the beautiful Haw River Ballroom with a caller/ instructor to the fantastic live music of the Five Point Rounders! Whether you are a pro or a novice all are welcome! Professional barn dance leader Dave Dobbins will hold a lesson for all before each dance and then the stomping and whirling begins! $15 per person or $40 for a family/party of 4.

Barn Dance

Joe Troop is a multi-instrumentalist, singer, and songwriter hailing from the North Carolina Piedmont. He is one half of the acclaimed panamerican folk duo Larry &amp; Joe, and founder of GRAMMY-nominated stringband Che Apalache. His music is deeply inspired by a decade living in Buenos Aires and traveling throughout Latin America and the world.When the pandemic landed him back in North Carolina in 2020, Joe began working with stalwart organizers in order to more effectively meld his music and progressive social agenda. This culminated in his 2021 album “Borrowed Time,” featuring an epic cast of collaborators including Béla Fleck, Abigail Washburn, Tim O’Brien and Charlie Hunter.In December of 2021 the stars aligned, and Joe met his musical soul brother, Raleigh-based Venezuelan folk music legend and asylum-seeker Larry Bellorín. Soon thereafter he decided to put down roots in Durham to pursue the duo full time.&nbsp;When not on the road with Lare-bear, Joe leads various ensembles in NC, which play his original music.&nbsp;It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

Joe Troop's Truth Machine

Boom Unit Brass Band is a 10-piece second line brass band from NC.It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!<h2>Please note that dogs are NOT allowed, sorry!!</h2>

Darren Jessee

This show is standing room.Godspeed You! Black Emperor released a string of albums from 1997-2002 widely recognized as redefining what protest music can be, where longform instrumental chamber rock compositions of immense feeling and power serve as soundtracks to late capitalist alienation and resistance. The band’s first four releases—especially&nbsp; F#A#∞ (1997) and Lift Your Skinny Fists Like Antennas To Heaven (2000)—are variously regarded as classics of the era and genre. Godspeed's legendary live performances, featuring multiple 16mm projectors beaming a collage of overlapping analog film loops and reels—along with the distinctive iconography, imagery and tactility of the band's album artwork and physical LP packages— further defines the sui generis aesthetic substance, ethos and mythos of this group. GY!BE has issued two official band photos in its 25-year existence (the second, left, a 2010 recreation of the first from 1997) and has done a half-dozen collectively-answered written interviews over that same span. The band has never had a website or social media accounts. It has never made a video. Few rock bands in our 21st century have been as steadfast in trying to let the work speak for itself and maintaining simple rules about minimising participation in cultures of personality, exposure, access, commodification or co-optation.Following a seven-year hiatus that began in 2003, Godspeed returned to the stage in December 2010 (curating the UK festival All Tomorrow’s Parties) and the band’s post-reunion period has now lasted over a decade, marked by hundreds of sold-out live shows and three additional albums, all of which have been met with high acclaim.G_d’s Pee AT STATE’S END! – the band’s fourth post-reunion album (and eighth overall) –&nbsp;was released&nbsp;on April 2nd, 2021.

Godspeed You! Black Emperor (NEW DATE)

Country Cruel

Celebrate Juneteenth at the Haw River Ballroom on June 20! Featuring music from a live DJ, food, dancing, games and fun!

Rap & Spades: Juneteenth Celebration

ll Y’all Records is the brainchild of Dave Hedeman from the Gone Ghosts and Nick Stroud from Heat Preacher. Together they saw an opportunity to do things differently. Veterans of the local North Carolina and regional music scenes, Nick and Dave share a common camaraderie.Together, they have seen it all throughout their musical careers. But In recent years the music industry has turned itself upside-down and inside-out and the game has completely changed. And it's hardly ever in the interest of the independent artist.&nbsp;All Y’all Records sees an opportunity to help up-and-coming artists in our respective genres, reach their musical goals, while opening up a different paths to success on their musical journeys.All Y’all Records’ goal is to foster a thriving live music scene for independent artists in the Americana Rock / Roots Rock / Alt-Country and Indie Rock genres. Together, we’ll help North Carolina bands succeed by sharing knowledge, experience and connections. We’ll amplify each other's unique strengths to advance everyone's career., because we believe we can be stronger together than by going it alone. It's as simple as that.&nbsp;We hope you will&nbsp; follow us in our musical journey to help support local musicians and artists thrive.It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

All Y'all Country All Stars

Three women ignite the flames of curiosity and adventure which lay dormant within so many of us, by deepening our understanding of the synergy between nature and humanity—and by doing so radically, through a voyage across the North Atlantic.Motivated by Kiana’s first North Atlantic crossing in 2019, where she witnessed a plastic-littered ocean, Mara Noka and Kiana, joined by filmmaker Alizé Jireh and environmentalist Lærke Heilmann, set off across the North Atlantic again in 2022 to follow plastic pollution on its ride to Europe via the Gulf Stream. Throughout the entirety of the voyage, larger floating debris including fishing nets, buckets, bottles, plastic bags, and nylon ropes were constant companions.&nbsp;Though the initial intention of the film was to focus mainly on telling this story of plastic, the voyage took on a much more personal tone as the days progressed. The women were then faced with the reality of life at sea aboard a boat, for 30 days, with no space from each other or themselves. Calms and tempests reflected their own inner workings, and an entire moon’s cycle on the ocean brought their femininity to the forefront. They experienced their fragility and their strengths with an intensity that is unmatched, transforming this film into an intimate portrayal of woman and nature.

Women & the Wind: Film Screening

Join us for a FREE dance party after Wilson Springs Hotel’s show at Saturdays in Saxapahaw. It’s FREE and all are invited!

FREE DANCE PARTY

Spend the weekend in Saxapahaw for the “Saxapahaw Sleepover!” Enjoy a whole weekend in the historic village! Check out the Saxapahaw Campgrounds and sleep down by the riverside on 10 acres of wooded land right by the river with cabins, camping spots and tree pods; or try Terrastay Farm or the many Airbnbs to choose from. Kayak the Haw River with Haw River Canoe and Kayak, hike the Saxapahaw Island and surrounding Haw River Trails, find the Hammocks! Try out the restaurants, the Saxapahaw General Store and The Eddy, Haw River Farmhouse Ales, Cup 22 Coffeehouse and Left Bank Butchery, check out the workshop and shop at Riverside Collective and get a mocktail and record at Saxy- A-Gogo. Paperhand Puppet has a community workday on Saturday from 10-5. Saturdays in Saxaphaw with Wilson Springs Hotel is from 5-8 the Haw River Ballroom is hosting a free dance party starting right after Saturdays in Saxapahw and head to 2 Dam Goods and the new Studio above the post office for late night drinks and games!It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!<h2>Please note that dogs are NOT allowed, sorry!!</h2>

The Wilson Springs Hotel

Hadreas, a Seattle native, began his music career in 2008 and released his debut album, Learning, in 2010 via long-time label home Matador. The album immediately captured critics’ attention, with Pitchfork praising its “eviscerating and naked” songs, marked by “heartbreaking sentiments and bruised characterizations delivered in a voice that ranges from an ethereal croon to a slightly cracked warble.” These descriptors became the hallmarks of Perfume Genius - Hadreas’ unique ability to convey emotional vulnerability not only lyrically, but with his impressively nuanced vocals.&nbsp;In 2012, Hadreas released Put Your Back N 2 It, further growing his audience and critical acclaim. His 2014 album, Too Bright, marked a bold evolution in production and confidence. Co-produced by Adrian Utley of Portishead, it featured the standout single “Queen,” which quickly became a queer anthem and powerful statement of identity. Hadreas later performed the track on Late Night with David Letterman.&nbsp;In 2017, Perfume Genius released the GRAMMY-nominated No Shape, a breakthrough album that expanded his global fan base and brought mainstream recognition to his art. Produced by Blake Mills (Fiona Apple, Alabama Shakes), the record earned high praise, with The New Yorker noting, “The center of his music has always been a defiant delicacy—a ragged, affirmative understanding of despair. No Shape finds him unexpectedly victorious, his body exalted.” During the album’s campaign, Hadreas appeared on multiple late-night shows and graced the cover of The Fader.&nbsp;In 2020, Hadreas released Set My Heart On Fire Immediately, a critical masterpiece on Matador Records that garnered worldwide acclaim. Produced by GRAMMY winner Blake Mills, the album featured contributions from Phoebe Bridgers, Jim Keltner, Pino Palladino, Matt Chamberlin, Rob Moose, and longtime collaborator Alan Wyffels. It explored and subverted concepts of masculinity and traditional roles, introducing distinctly American musical influences.Hadreas promoted the album with performances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! (“Jason”), The Late Show with Stephen Colbert (“Whole Life”), and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon (“On The Floor”). He followed with Ugly Season, a project born from his collaboration with choreographer Kate Wallich on The Sun Still Burns Here, a dance piece commissioned by Seattle Theatre Group and Mass MoCA and performed across major cities in 2019. &nbsp;The release included a stunning 30-minute film, Pygmalion’s Ugly Season, created with renowned visual artist Jacolby Satterwhite, blending surreal visuals with Hadreas’s music.&nbsp;Mike Hadreas is now based in Los Angeles with his partner in life and music, Alan Wyffels.&nbsp;

Perfume Genius

On their self-titled debut album, Fancy Gap–the duo of singer/songwriter Stuart McLamb (The Love Language) and songwriter/producer Charles Crossingham–takes listeners on a journey that steers through life’s melodies with windows down. It’s a country-tinged, radio-ready sound, yet delves deep into universal themes. From stirring reflections on death and aging to the joyous celebrations of life, love, and triumph, every track on Fancy Gap captures different facets of the human experience. With a twang evoking the heartland and a widescreen perspective hinting at something greater, McLamb and Crossingham explore poignant moments of laughter and loss, enduring bonds of friendship, and the ups and downs of relationships.&nbsp;McLamb has always been a heart-on-his-sleeve songwriter–one that’s also a traveler, tourer, hand-holder, relationship whisperer, and chronicler of beginnings and endings–and the bittersweetness that courses through The Love Language’s four albums is a voyage worth all the heartbreak. As he began working on the band’s fifth album in early 2020, McLamb took some early demos to Crossingham, whom he had known for nearly a decade but became closer with after moving back to Raleigh, North Carolina, that March. The pandemic struck in the midst of feeling out those early ideas; the two sheltered in Crossingham’s mountain cabin in Fancy Gap, Virginia, and questions of what life would look like when the world started over seeped into their late-night songwriting sessions. What began as a producer/artist collaboration blossomed into a close-knit co-writing project, rooted in Crossingham’s inspired belief and admiration in McLamb’s talents, and the musical kinship that the two had forged.As the tracks were fleshed out, a collective idea of song and place became entwined in how the two wanted these compositions to sound and feel. “Charles and I wanted to make an album that sounded like the music we wanted to hear. It just so happens that at the time we were listening to a lot of classic ’90s radio rock and a lot of classic country radio 98.1 WBRF out of Galax, VA,” McLamb explains. Fancy Gap was born. “Over the next two years,” he adds. “We hustled through odd jobs to keep our heads above water while dedicating ourselves to crafting the best songs we could.” The music took shape during recording sessions at the cabin, as well as impromptu jam sessions where Crossingham played guitar and McLamb handled drums and vocals. “The lockdown had us feeling cooped up, so we just let loose and rocked out. Making music with a friend like that was a blast—it took me back to the early days of jamming in my parents’ garage with my younger brother,” McLamb recalls fondly. They would then refine their best ideas at the Fancy Gap cabin, utilizing a portable rack unit of Quad Eight preamps. “Many of the lead vocals were captured in the moment, often on the first or second take,” he says.&nbsp;Reaching out to fellow artists and musicians became a priority as their excitement around the music continued to grow, and also felt like the thread to sew together the fabric of life after lockdown. “During the pandemic, we–and a lot of our artist friends who were struggling–needed a belief that there would be a light at the end of this,” Crossingham explained. “As the songs began to come together, we wanted to open our tent, and ask some of those friends and artists we respected to be a part of Fancy Gap with us.” As such, the album features masterful contributions from Sharon Van Etten (vocals on “Strawberry Moon”); Taking Back Sunday’s Adam Lazzara (vocals on “Filthy Habits”); Rami Jaffee (The Foo Fighters, The Wallflowers) on the Hammond B3 organ and Wurlitzer; acclaimed session guitarist Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Mountain Goats, Etta James); and Jon Graboff on pedal steel ( Willie Nelson, Noel Gallagher, M. Ward, Norah Jones). Fancy Gap was finalized over five sessions with Grammy-award-winning engineer Craig Alvin (‘Album of the Year’ Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour), who mixed the album at Noble Steed Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.&nbsp;As McLamb’s timeless voice leads the way–all classic pop timbre and heart swells, casting notes toward the sky–the songs explore love found (“Little Heart Racer”) and love lost (“Diamond Cutter”), the passing of loved ones (“Magnolias”), and hazy dreams and addictions of all kinds (“Old Ways”). The album pulses with a front porch phrasing and tempos that echoes the mountain locale of its recording; “How to Dance” and “Little Heart Racer” swing with a breezy roadhouse exuberance countered by the sweet melancholy of “Strawberry Moon.” Throughout, Fancy Gap also finds McLamb and Crossingham conjuring the pop leanings of early Counting Crows and The Lemonheads (“Filthy Habits”), the chordal phrasing and harmonies of Joni Mitchell and Crosby, Stills &amp; Nash (“Whispering Winds”), the stadium-sized sing-along choruses of The Wallflowers (“40,000 Miles”), and the expansive western terrains akin to a more psychedelic Marty Robbins (“Diamond Cutter”).&nbsp;Fancy Gap, for all the genuine emotional resonance it hits lyrically, feels like a hands-in-the-breeze springtime ride at dusk, with a treasure trove of your favorite albums under your seat and nothing in front of you but gravel roads and wistful speed. It’s a musical expedition that transcends the sum of its parts, painting sonic landscapes that linger in the heart and soul.– Roy Bourne, April 2024It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!<h2>Please note that dogs are NOT allowed, sorry!!</h2>

Mark your calendars and plan to join us the evening of May 27th at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x972fbf xcfux6l x1qhh985 xm0m39n x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xkrqix3 x1sur9pj x1fey0fg x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/The-Haw-River-Ballroom-439817229479643/?__cft__[0]=AZVexe_PRfAS-IrUB1_r3L63HNDyFWUrXO4_-9W_YsQuVnCV3plbJsBegNAbtdyQz8lmU1ON9_g5lX8ZByVkZ_Z5-YJ5O9Y0bQpwluTqpTF389NaQ3cz-kl9a1gtRSBxnldPsr6dyR71Oim7L6VKnr2f_-rAjfP1aHlS40zBIYxTOligIqZtcZWTCWnnHNr55VKCbgopeWEN5yaRhQD3afvZxYmknRX1OSDLQePVB3fWig&amp;__tn__=kK-y-R">The Haw River Ballroom</a> for this community wide event!!WHAT CAN YOU EXPECT??Great food for sale (thanks to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" class="x1i10hfl xjbqb8w x1ejq31n xd10rxx x1sy0etr x17r0tee x972fbf xcfux6l x1qhh985 xm0m39n x9f619 x1ypdohk xt0psk2 xe8uvvx xdj266r x11i5rnm xat24cr x1mh8g0r xexx8yu x4uap5 x18d9i69 xkhd6sd x16tdsg8 x1hl2dhg xggy1nq x1a2a7pz xkrqix3 x1sur9pj x1fey0fg x1s688f" href="https://www.facebook.com/leftbankbutchery?__cft__[0]=AZVexe_PRfAS-IrUB1_r3L63HNDyFWUrXO4_-9W_YsQuVnCV3plbJsBegNAbtdyQz8lmU1ON9_g5lX8ZByVkZ_Z5-YJ5O9Y0bQpwluTqpTF389NaQ3cz-kl9a1gtRSBxnldPsr6dyR71Oim7L6VKnr2f_-rAjfP1aHlS40zBIYxTOligIqZtcZWTCWnnHNr55VKCbgopeWEN5yaRhQD3afvZxYmknRX1OSDLQePVB3fWig&amp;__tn__=-]K-y-R">Left Bank Butchery</a> and current parents!)Live music from local legend Alexander UnderwoodThe chance to snag some really incredible student made art (silent auction style)Community engagement as we gather in support of our youngest SaxapahooligansThe opportunity to learn more about our program as told by the stories in the artAn abundance of JOY, FUN, and LOVEMay 27th 5:30-7pm!!!

Itty Bid-y Art Auction

Lou Hazel was born in the town of Olean, New York to a family of northeastern wiseacres.Not one to commit, he skirted the compulsive hunting and fishing tradition held close to his father’s heart - instead cultivating a sensitivity more suited to artists and vagabonds. As a result, his travels brought him across the country and eventually through debilitating depression before coming to rest with a sense of personal peace and positivity in Durham, NC.Yet, Lou’s brain is still a bat cave. Mostly, he wakes up with no idea what he’s going to do next, then finds himself there. In songwriting, he pulls from this cave rambling, heartfelt tales flowing through unselfconscious truth. In illustrations, he swirls and meanders towards an eventual finish only understood upon completion – as in his music. And in his photography and design work, he renders the essence of fellow musicians into expressive, personalized works of art.Today, Louie continues crafting genuine folk tales of honest longing, disquieting loss, and nostalgia through a brilliant sheen of fresh insight with humble humor. Grabbing us by the ears in a new-age, Prine-like grip. Transforming the minutiae of everyday life into ever more evocative music. And surprising us all, including himself, with where we emerge.In other words, Lou Hazel is coming out of this unbearable, unbelievably tragic, disconcerting year like a damn newborn moth with jet engine wings aimed toward a totally full super-moon. And it is good.It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

Lou Hazel

On Saturday, May 17, from 6:00-9:00pm we will be celebrating our 51st year in the universe at the Haw River Ballroom, where we'll be leaning into an Area 51 and extraterrestrial theme for an out-of-this-world event.&nbsp;With a wonderful meal provided by Tandem and delicious desserts donated by local bakeries, we'll be dining family style while being regaled by TAC's own Tyler Dennis who'll serve as this year's auctioneer.All silent and live auction items will be posted for your viewing pleasure May 4 (MAY THE FOURTH BE WITH YOU!), but in the meantime a couple of highlights include a once-in-a-blue-moon painting workshop by Jane Filer, and weeklong mountain getaway to Blowing Rock. As always, all proceeds raised at GALAxy 51 will help fund our scholarship fund, educational programming and outreach, and studio improvements and amenities.In keeping with the spirit of a masked ball, we welcome you to come as you are and leave your human costume (and your cares) at home!

The ArtsCenter GALAxy

The nomadic, self-taught, soul searching troubadour has effectively and dynamically been able to disassemble the idea of an artist needing to be accredited to be accomplished. With an old soul and a fresh perspective, he has cultivated soundscapes and wave therapy on some of the musical worlds biggest stages such as Newport Jazz Festival, TEDx, and NPR while simultaneously staying steadfast in his belief of authentic quality over quantity; and it is with that stance that Charles has acquired cosigns from the likes of GRAMMY AWARD winning artists such as Son Little, Cedric Burnside, and Hip-Hop legends Digable Planets and Arrested Development; of which he has been direct support on a string of sold out shows. The D’angelico Guitars and Supro endorsed Charles’s inquisitive introspection has caught the attention of over 300k listeners across streaming platforms; not to mention the countless listeners he has captivated at venues, festivals, and conferences. His unique sonics have entertained and helped heal those who have listened, and Charles plans to continue that standard with his newest EP, “Here We Are.”, ushering in a new era; elevating his artistry and vision to new heights once again.It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

Tre. Charles

GoldFord is a singer-songwriter known for his soulful, emotive music that blends classic and modern pop and soul styles. With over 50 million streams on his hit song "Orange Blossoms," In recent years, GoldFord’s music and songs he’s featured on have amassed over half a billion streams.GoldFord's musical journey is marked by a dedication to mental health and mindfulness education. He partners with organizations such as Whole School Mindfulness and Give to Give to address mental health issues and promote healing solutions. His music, including collaborations with artists like Lost Frequencies and Andy Grammer has been featured in popular TV shows and commercials such as Grey’s Anatomy, Coca-Cola, Station 19, Jeep, and the Super Bowl LVII, further cementing his mainstream appeal.

GoldFord

Hamilton Leithauser, the hard-hitting, Carlyle-crooning frontman of The Walkmen, has worked the last eight years in the heart of Bedford Stuyvesant, writing and recording his new breakthrough solo record, This Side of the Island. Known for his evocative lyricism, quick wit, and distinctive voice, Leithauser has been a significant force in rock ‘n’ roll since the early 2000s NYC scene, transitioning smoothly from his band’s successes to a flourishing solo career. This Side of the Island boldly turns away from the folk-rockvibes of his two previous records I Had a Dream That You Were Mine and The Loves of Your Life; and introduces a groovier, bass-heavy, modern sound—a sound undoubtedly influenced by several decades of music: Sly Stone’s There’s a Riot Goin’ On, Talking Heads’ Fear of Music, SZA’s SOS, Funkadelic’s Maggot Brain, Randy Newman’s Trouble in Paradise, Prince’s Parade, Panda Bear’s Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper, and Neil Young’s On the Beach (to name a few). Hamilton loves working on his own schedule at his home studio, The Struggle Hut, but after eight years of playing myriad instruments, a visit to his old friend Aaron Dessner’s upstate Long Pond Studio in the Spring of 2024 is what finally brought the album home. (Leithauser and Dessner originally met when the National opened for the Walkmen in 2001). Dessner, renowned for his work with The National, Taylor Swift, and Gracie Abrams (among many others), introduced an enormous modern sound, and played many different instruments on nearly every track. Leithauser says Dessner “raised the ceiling, and lowered the floor on the whole thing,” expanding the record’s emotional and sonic depth. The collaboration resulted in a record that is both timeless and contemporary, cementing both as versatile and enduring artists in contemporary music. “It took me eight years to make this,” Hamilton says, “Longer than any other record I’ve ever worked on. Barack Obama was president when I started “Fist of Flowers”! So much in my life has changed since I started—my daughters grew, I lost a lot of friends, and I lost my mother…and it seems like the whole world’s been turned upside down—I live a very different life now, but I still truly love writing, recording, and performing music.” The lyrics on This Side of the Island showcase Hamilton’s unrelenting optimism and biting humor and as they consider heavy themes of solitude, love, loss, and resilience. Inspired by events in Hamilton’s personal life, the songs resonate deeply both in today’s polarized social and political world, as the title track says “It’s not a beautiful country/as much as I’d like it to be”. “What do I know?” “What do I know?” “What do I know?” “What do I know?” —emphasize any word in that title and you’ll change the meaning. Kind of silly questions…until you start digging in. “When the singer burns her torch/no she will not be ignored, and I love her pain, and her pride and her shame/but what do I love now?” he asks himself.

Hamilton Leithauser

Big Fat Gap

If you are a fan of Saxapahaw or are looking for something fun to do in the Village, then join us for a live painting event at Cup 22 in Saxapahaw, NC. We are Partnering with Cup22 to bring you this event. We will have art, music, and fun! Cup 22 will have an assortment of food and beverages for sale at the bar. Wine and Design will provide the supplies need to make your own masterpiece. Come on out and pARTy with us!! Arrive 30 minutes early to order your drinks! Wine &amp; Design will have everything ready for you to create your very own masterpiece. Event is NOT BYOB, discounts/coupons not valid. Thank you for painting with us! Email <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:ch@wineanddesign.com">ch@wineanddesign.com</a> with any questions!! Cancellation Policy All sales are final, no refunds will be issued in the event that a customer cancels their reservation. To receive a credit, the customer must email <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:ch@wineanddesign.com">ch@wineanddesign.com</a> 24 hours prior to the event. Please note that if you are booking a reservation within 24 hours of the class, a credit will not be an option in the event you cannot attend class. If there is a threat of inclement weather or if the event has low attendance, it is subject to cancellation. If this is the case, you will be given a credit for another class of equal value. Thank you!Wine and Design of Chapel Hill is your premier art entertainment source.&nbsp; We offer fun events for folks 5 years and up to play with art, experiment with DIY activities, and connect with others in a welcoming atmosphere. When you book an event with us, we provide&nbsp; everything you need to create a masterpiece.&nbsp; All you need to bring is yourself, a few friends, some snacks, and your favorite beverage. We put the Art into pARTy! Our event space in Chapel Hill is a great place to hold:<ul><li>Birthday parties,&nbsp;</li><li>Family reunions,&nbsp;</li><li>Bachelorette parties,</li><li>Team building events.</li><li>First dates</li><li>Anniversary celebrations.&nbsp;</li><li>And so much more.</li></ul>We offer public events Tuesday - Sunday.&nbsp; Private events are created by reservation. Please reach out to <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:ch@wineanddesign.com">ch@wineanddesign.com</a> for more information.&nbsp;We do not issue refunds, however you may receive a credit to a future class, if you email us at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="mailto:ch@wineanddesign.com">ch@wineanddesign.com</a> at least 24 hours before the event. No credits or refunds for no shows.

Wine & Design

After an impressive 2010s run of albums that earned him a devoted fanbase, accolades from outlets like The New York Times, Fresh Air, and Pitchfork, and a place in the upper echelon of modern Americana singer-songwriters, John Moreland has already taken two unexpected turns this decade, both of which highlight his fierce artistic independence. First, he released a brilliant and sonically layered folk-electronica meditation on modern alienation, 2022’s Birds In The Ceiling, that took some of his fans by surprise. Then, after wrapping up a difficult tour behind that record in November 2022, he stopped working entirely. He took an entire year off from playing shows and didn’t use a smartphone for 6 months. “At the end of that year, I was just like ‘Nobody call me’. I needed to not do anything for a while and just process,” Moreland says. After nearly a decade in the limelight, constantly jostled by the expectations of his audience, the music industry, and anonymous strangers online, he carved out some time to rest, heal, and reflect for the first time.&nbsp;The result of that unplugged year at home is 2024’s Visitor, a folk-rock record that is intimate, immediate, deeply thoughtful, and catchy as hell. Moreland recorded the album at his home in Bixby, Oklahoma, in only ten days, playing nearly every instrument himself (his wife Pearl Rachinsky sang on one song, and his longtime collaborator John Calvin Abney contributed a guitar solo), as well as engineering and mixing the album. “Simplicity and immediacy felt very important to the process,” he says.&nbsp;This is a return to the approach Moreland took on his breakthrough albums, 2013’s In The Throes and 2015’s High On Tulsa Heat, both of which were largely self-recorded at home with a small cadre of additional musicians. Echoes of these early albums can be heard on Visitor (Moreland makes a passing reference to In The Throes’ opening track “I Need You To Tell Me Who I Am” in two different songs on Visitor), which finds Moreland shutting out the noisy world outside, and the even noisier digital world in his pocket, to reconnect with a muse that’s had to increasingly compete for his attention in the intervening years. Visitor charts his journey back to this muse. If Birds In The Ceiling’s theme was alienation, Visitor’s theme is un-alienation.&nbsp;Moreland begins the album where he began his year-long process of healing: doomscrolling past images of political turmoil, war, and environmental destruction, in a trio of surprisingly hooky folk songs that address present-day social realities more directly than any previous John Moreland songs. On opening track “The Future Is Coming Fast”, Moreland describes the perpetually logged-on life in a time of rolling catastrophe over gentle fingerpicking: “The news keeps steady coming in / Our condition shows its teeth again / A nightmare we all thought would end.”

John Moreland with Ramsey Thornton

It's the 20th anniversary of Saturdays in Saxapahaw!! The weekly festivities include performances by local bands and a thriving Farmer’s Market with fresh local produce, eggs, baked goods, flowers, honey, locally produced microbrews, handmade arts and crafts, food trucks, ice cream and more! Festivities take place every Saturday with the market opening at 5pm and music going from 6 to 8pm from the first Saturday in May through last Saturday in August. Admission is free though donations are appreciated, organizers will have our famous “Swan Buckets” on stage each week and Swan Venmo information posted for the bands! Please give what you can to these wonderful musicians!

Haw River Festival

<h2 style="text-align: start">Saturday, April 26: FriendsFest, <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.hawriverballroom.com/#/events">Haw River Ballroom</a>, Saxapahaw, NC</h2>Free and open to the public!&nbsp;There will be music, food trucks, libations,&nbsp;family friendly activities, and more.Outside Stage: Leo Rainey, emcee (River Amphitheater) 11:30 am -12:00 pm |&nbsp;Sing Along with Robinson Earle 12:00-12:20 pm | Middle School Chorus 12:30-12:50 pm | Gretchen Klopfer Wing 1:00-1:45 pm | Community Drumming Ensemble 2:00-2:45 pm | Oblations (Joe MacPhail, Daniel Fields) 3:00-3:45 pm | Get Rhythm (John Sharon, Bill Hoffman, Mark Whitener) 4:00-4:45 pm | A Restoration Project (Cleon Cumberbatch, Rony Thomas, Herb Powell, Will Ray) 5:00-5:45 pm | Living Arts Collective (Aubrey Griffith Roze, Bru Roze, Beverly Botsford)Inside Stage: Josh Lozoff, emcee (including magic!) (Haw River Ballroom) 2:30-3:15 pm | River Otters (Robinson Earle, Michael Buckley, David Barrett) 3:30-4:15 pm | Island Moons (Brandon Harwood, Spencer Ware, Dan Burkett) 4:30-5:30 pm | Upper School Music Ensemble 5:45-6:30 pm | Katherine Whalen (with Austin Riopel, Danny Grewen, Zoe Willard, Nate Gerard) 6:45-7:45 pm | Carolina Cutups (Spencer Woodman, Tim Wells, David Henderson, Matthew Rubin) 8:00-9:00 pm | Caitlin Linney

Friends Fest

<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://bit.ly/Superbowl25HRB">This is a standing room show.</a>The New OutlawsListen: For some of us, maybe even most of us, it’s been a rough year. As I write these words,it’s mid-November in Chicago, the warmest autumn on record, and the bad news keepscoming. Family and animals and homes washed away in the rural south. A wildfire seasonthat never ends. Too much water in some places, not enough in others. Back in my homestate of Texas, pregnant people, some barely out of childhood, are dying for lack of medicalcare. And Lord have mercy if you, or someone you love, is an undocumented immigrant, orif you’re trans, queer, poor, Black, and the list goes on (and on and on). Sometimes it feelslike the whole damned world has made up its mind to destroy itself once and for all. So Ifeel it in my bones when Julien Baker sings, That it can’t get much worse depends on whoyou’re askin. Maybe you feel it, too, and maybe you could use the good company of thismuch-anticipated country album by critically acclaimed artists Julien Baker &amp; TORRES (akaMackenzie Scott).Send A Prayer My Way has been in the works for years. Imagine two young musiciansplaying their first show together at Lincoln Hall, a much-loved venue here in Chicago. It’sJanuary 15, 2016, and bone chillingly cold outside, especially for a couple of southerners.When the show is over and they’re shooting the shit, one singer says to the other, “Weshould make a country album.” This is the origin story, the stuff of legend in the world ofcountry music, and the beginning of a collaboration between two artists already admiredfor their spare, elegant lyrics as well as the courage to share their struggles with those wholove their music. It’s also the beginning of creating a work that, like the most enduringcountry albums, sustains and inspires, reminding both singer and listener that not one of usis ever totally alone in this world, that music is a steady companion. Why are you weeping?Whom are you seeking,” they sing in “No Desert Flower.” I can take more than a little rain/If the going’s tough I will not cower/And all the passing years won’t wash me away.I’ll lay my cards on the table from the get-go: Send A Prayer My Way is a damn fine country album, written and sung in the best of the outlaw tradition—defiant, subversive, working class, and determined to wrestle not only with addiction, regret and bad decisions, but alsowith oppressive systems of power. (In the best outlaw country, The Law is no friend ofyours, and neither is The Man; in TORRES and Baker’s music, neither are religiousblowhards or mothers who can’t stomach their daughter’s sexuality.) These are songs aboutwrapping up a long shift and driving home bone tired, just hoping for a little weed and aquiet place to put your feet up; or falling off the wagon (again) and wondering if this time itwill finally drag you under the wheels; or thinking that bad decisions are the only decisionsyou know how to make. If you ask how I’ve been doing I won’t lie/More than half the time I’monly skatin by/Waiting for the ice to melt beneath me, Baker sings in the opening song “Dirt,”and a few lines later, this beauty: Spend your whole life getting clean/Just to wind up in thedirt.Mercifully, this is only the beginning of the stories TORRES and Baker are determined totell. Because these are also songs about radical empathy and second chances, and thirdchances, and while there’s plenty of struggle and regret in here, there’s also humor anddefiance. In my book there’s no such thing as guilty pleasure/As long as your pleasure’s notunkind, TORRES sings in “The Only Marble I’ve Got Left.” On “Tuesday,” she turns her gazebackward, remembering a love affair long in the rearview mirror, and the harm done whenpassion meets shame. And if I could only go back in time/I’d rewrite our whole story…Andnow I know that your shame was not mine/And I am perfect in my Lord’s eyes. There is clarityin time’s passage, at least sometimes, and whatever grace some of us can muster oftencomes from taking the irreverent, and much funnier, low road. And in this way, Send aPrayer My Way reminds me of Lucinda Williams’s Happy Woman Blues (1980), or LorettaLynn singing about The Pill in 1975. And just like those badass women, Baker and TORRESaren’t asking for anybody’s tolerance, or forgiveness, and they sure as shit aren’t asking forpermission.And I’m here for every word of it. Because some of us sinners (and I mean that as acompliment of the highest order)—the criminals and cheaters among us, the addicts andlonely-hearted, those of us who, in the words of that brilliant and mad old outlaw, TownesVan Zandt, wear your skin like iron, your breath as hard as kerosene—were nursing our ownprivate heartaches long before the world started its most recent long skid. Some of us havelearned the hard way that leaning on poetry, stories, and songs ain’t a bad way to save yourown life.So listen: Whatever your story—if you’ve been staying up late and sleeping in, dodging callsfrom old friends and wondering how many times you can break your own heart throughevery fault of your own; if you’ve been missing work, or skipping school, or blowing pastdeadlines like they’re four-way stop signs on the highway to hell; and most especially, ifyou’re feeling afraid for your life, or the lives of those you hold most dear—I hope you willfind some comfort in these twelve songs. I hope you will put a little sugar in the tank and letthese two singers love you all the way to hell and back. Because here’s the thing about goingto hell and back: You came back.Elizabeth WetmoreAuthor of Valentine

Julien Baker & TORRES

The Dip is a Seattle-based Rhythm and Blues band that is known for its poignant songwriting, detailed arrangements, and vintage sound. Featuring a three-piece horn section, the group’s music harkens back to earlier soul and funk influences while hinting at the jazz foundations that brought the band’s members together. Along with singer and guitarist Tom Eddy, bassist Mark Hunter and drummer Jarred Katz are equally at home in a tight-pocketed groove as they are spacious free-improvisation. Trumpet player Brennan Carter joined by saxophonists Evan Smith and Levi Gillis serve as the band’s melodic counterpoint, playing off Eddy’s vocals to create a distinct sonic character that has drawn in millions of listeners to date.&nbsp;'Love Direction', the follow-up to 2022’s 'Sticking With It' (which landed at #1 on the Billboard Current R&amp;B Albums Chart) is the band’s fourth full-length studio album and second for Dualtone Records, is out now. This new record is the sound of the band taking their next step forward. The interplay of old and new is on full display throughout the album; and, the group augments their classic sound with an expanded instrumentation throughout. Eddy says of the album’s inspiration: “As you get further along in a relationship, sometimes you lose your way. The things that came easily in the beginning get hard. The love is still there, it’s just that people and life are complicated. Sometimes you don’t have the tools in the toolbox to figure out what you need to do to support the other person, so you have to get help and ask for directions.”Still, despite the title, this latest record isn’t a collection of straightforward love songs, but an investigation into the different angles and challenges that relationships can bring. Expanding on the album’s theme, Eddy further notes “These aren’t ‘Love Songs’ in the most obvious sense. They deal with the middle stages, the hinterlands of love and life together - figuring someone out and what they need, learning how to communicate, and examining your own faults. We set out to write music that felt more grown, a little wiser. The songs that emerged all pointed in the Love Direction.”Their last album cycle saw the band headline and sell-out shows at iconic venues across the country. They have also had the opportunity to support new friends like Lake Street Dive and The Black Pumas, while also appearing at major festivals including Bonnaroo and Outside Lands. No strangers to the road, this new album represents a reflection on the band’s touring gravitas as well as the promise of a new destination appearing on the horizon. Directions now in hand, The Dip is looking forward to furthering this exploration into all matters of the heart by bringing this expansive and detailed new recording to life in their next travels together.

The Dip

Kristian Matsson has never remained in one place for very long. Having spent much of the last decade touring around the world as The Tallest Man On Earth, Matsson has captivated audiences using, as The New York Times describes, “every inch of his long guitar cord to roam the stage: darting around, crouching, stretching, hip-twitching, perching briefly and jittering away…Mr. Matsson is a guitar-slinger rooted in folk, and his songs are troubadour ballads at heart.”Then came 2020, when Matsson left New York City and returned to his farm in Sweden. There, during that quiet, dreary time of isolation, he drowned out his thoughts by manically growing vegetables in his garden. When he tried writing again, during those many months of collective forced solitude, “I just found myself commenting on the darkness,” Matsson says. “I lost my imagination.” Playing live, music and inspiration returned near the end of 2021, and his produce became less of a priority. “When I’m in motion, I can focus on my instinct, have my daydreams again. When I was finally able to tour again, I started writing like a madman.” He eventually had twenty songs he wanted to record in ten days.Now, Matsson returns as The Tallest Man On Earth with Henry St., his sixth studio album following 2012’s There’s No Leaving Now, full of “vivid imagery, clever turns-of-phrase, and devastating, world-weary observations” (Under The Radar),2015’s Dark Bird Is A Home, his “most personal record… surreal and dreamlike” (Pitchfork) and and the self-released I Love You, It’s a Fever Dream in 2019. Henry St. notably marks the first time he recorded an album in a band setting. “My entire career I’ve been a DIY person––mostly fueled by the feeling that I didn’t know what I was doing, so I’d just do everything myself.” But now, longing for the energy that’s only released when creating together with others, Matsson invited his friends to come and play.Nick Sanborn (of Sylvan Esso) produced Henry St., which includes contributions from Ryan Gustafson (of The Dead Tongues) on guitar, lap steel and ukulele, TJ Maiani on drums, CJ Camerieri (of Bon Iver) on trumpet and French horn, Phil Cook on piano and organ, Rob Moose (of Bon Iver, yMusic) on strings and Adam Schatz on saxophone. “They opened everything up, and understood what the songs that I’d written needed: sounds that I couldn’t ever have thought of or created myself. We recorded so many of the songs live in the studio, playing, having fun and being really open with each other.”An overarching theme of Henry St., he says, is “how to be a person in this world.” The title track is about the deception that, “as individuals, we’re told that we should strive for success. But when we have it, it doesn’t solve anything. The song is about stepping away and thinking: why am I actually doing this?” While writing the song back in Sweden, he knew it would be the centerpiece of the album. “It’s the low point and the turnaround: the other songs are a reminder that I will always be a stubborn optimist, even at the darkest of times.” He was about to record the track as a solo piece, until Phil Cook came in on his first day in the studio. “I had Phil basically hanging over my shoulders at the piano while we were playing, and then he recorded it. He improvised that beautiful outro. When he did, our jaws dropped––I was in tears.”“Looking for Love” is one of those songs about Matsson’s stubborn optimism, and a shining example of Sanborn’s influence on the album. “The first day in the studio, Nick created this hissing noise while I was feedbacking electric guitar. We had so much fun jamming like that. Then Nick put down some piano to overdub my guitar, and we knew we had the song.” The tone for their collaboration was set. “Nick is so emotionally intelligent, and we share an almost childlike joy in things that can happen with music. He makes the songs come truly alive by keeping the performances and the humanity in––the kind of stuff that just happens during the session.”The song “Every Little Heart,” he says, came from a feeling of fearlessness, a confidence in making music after two years of relative silence. “But of course I still have little demons inside of me. I wrote some key changes in the song that came natural to me, but I worried they might sound unnatural to others. When TJ Maiani heard it, he straightaway went into this drumbeat that shocked me a little at first, but came completely natural to him. It fit the song perfectly.”Matsson’s longing for social interchange, after months spent with only his crops, led to the collaboration that delivered the warm, unique and sprawling sound of Henry St. “It’s the most playful, most me album yet, because it covers so many of the different noises in my head. When you overthink things, you get further away from your original ideas. And God knows I overthink things when I’m by myself.” The time in isolation also brought him some newfound peace of mind. “Having been away from it taught me that making music and performing is what I’m doing for the rest of my life, and I’m so grateful for it. It has given me new confidence and playfulness. This is what I do. It’s unconditional.”

The Tallest Man on Earth

Come see the best paddling films of the year from all around the world!In partnership with our friends at the Haw River Ballroom, we will be hosting a screening of select films from the 2025 International Paddling Film Festival. These world-class short films highlight the best of the paddling community, showcasing paddlers overcoming incredible challenge and adversity while forging deep bonds with both nature and each other.But more than just watching great films, we want to take this opportunity to celebrate and share our love of paddling and our local rivers! We'll be a hosting a "River Social" event before the film screening, where attendees will have a chance to learn from organizations involved in the creation of the Haw River State Trail and protecting, maintaining and educating about the river’s natural &amp; cultural history. There will also be organizations offering paddling opportunities, teaching about river safety and rescue, and providing new and used paddling equipment and gear for sale.<h2>Ticket Prices</h2><ul><li>$18 online</li><li>$22 at the door</li><li>20% off up to 2 tickets for members of the <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" href="https://fareharbor.com/embeds/book/hawrivercanoe/items/578044/?full-items=yes&amp;flow=856120">Haw River Paddle Club</a>!</li></ul><h2>What's included</h2>Admission to a 3 hour screening of back-to-back select films from the 2025 International Film Festival, including a 20 minute intermission. Attendees will be able to vote on their favorite films, helping determine the Best Film of 2025 award winner!Admission to a 90 minute "River Social" event before the screening, bringing together people and organizations from the local paddling and river-loving community.Food and beer will be available on-site for purchase.

2025 Paddling Film Festival

Celebrate the lives of our transgender friends, family, and community with us featuring Mx. Princexx Peritwinkle, Stormie Daie, and SS Byride!We will have drag, snacks, and a community craft. Celebrations are appropriate for the whole family.At the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw - March 23, 2025 - from 5:00-7:00This event is FREE but registration lets us plan better!

Trans Day of Visibility - FREE Event

Introducing SECTION4: A Music Experience Like No OtherFor the first time, SECTION4 is coming to Saxapahaw, bringing a high-energy, immersive music experience like no other. Designed to blend the intimacy of a close-knit dance floor with the excitement of a major concert, this event is all about connection, energy, and unforgettable performances.The lineup features three incredible DJs:• Nick Rosen will kick off the night at 7:00 PM with an electrifying opening set.• Gunda takes over at 8:00 PM, delivering high-energy dynamic beats to keep the energy flowing.• Mora Odona headlines at 9:00 PM, promising a high-intensity, genre-blending performance that will have everyone jumping.SECTION4 isn’t just a concert—it’s an entirely new concept for the Saxapahaw music scene. Created by Mora Odona, the event is designed to deliver a raw, unfiltered energy while fostering a deep connection between the crowd, the music, and the atmosphere. Inspired by the iconic Boiler Room format, the event focuses on an intimate yet powerful shared experience.

This is a sitting event - adults admission is $15 and kids admission is free! <h3 style="text-align: start">Matthew Chenet and Betsy Bertram began a journey in 2017 to turn grief into art, launching a feature documentary project about how to live a magical life. Combining elements of narrative, documentary and visual poetry, Captain Scott B and the Great Adventure, explores questions of how to fully live, how to cultivate a deep connection with the natural world, and above all, how to enjoy the brief and wondrous time we spend on this planet.&nbsp;</h3>A heartwarming and heroic journey to discover the magic of everyday life. A grief-stricken young woman sets out to follow the trail her deceased father left for heri n countless hours of home video recordings and a lifelong journaling practice.With each new stop along the path, she slowly beings to uncover the key ingredients of her larger-than-life father’s wisdom as she finds the connection, purpose and healing she was seeking, hidden in plain sign. Learn more at <a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://www.captainscottb.com/">https://www.captainscottb.com/</a>

Captain Scott B & The Great Adventure (Screening Event)

Join us for Appalachian Square Dancing at the beautiful Haw River Ballroom with a caller/ instructor to the fantastic live music of Big Fat Gap! Whether you are a pro or a novice all are welcome! Professional barn dance leader Dave Dobbins will hold a lesson for all before each dance and then the stomping and whirling begins! $15 per person or $40 for a family/party of 4.

Join us for the "Disenfranchised Disco" – a gathering celebrating the voices of 60,000 voters in North Carolina whose rights have been challenged. Dance, plan, rejuvenate, make friends, and make a difference, while connecting with fellow advocates, individuals and organizations, sharing stories, and empowering each other to stand and dance! for justice. Together, we will ensure that every vote counts!

Disenfranchised Disco

This is a partially seated show.There is something warm and instantly familiar about the beloved roots duo, Chatham Rabbits. Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through deft songwriting and a history that comes from building a life together. Leaning into each other's strengths, their songs present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the pure adoration of fans along the way and earned them praise from Garden &amp; Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression.&nbsp;Their artistry hinges on a fervent desire to connect with others through the music that first brought the pair together. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music. Chatham Rabbits recorded and released their beloved debut album, All I Want From You in 2019. This set the standard for their sophomore release The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full—the centerpiece song “Oxen” was named “Top Folk Song of 2020” by Paste Magazine. Nurtured by central North Carolina’s fertile, influential music scene, Chatham Rabbits’ sound continues to evolve in their expansive third album, If You See Me Riding By (2022), which was simultaneously released with a television series, On the Road with Chatham Rabbits, on PBS-NC. The McCombies ingenuity during the Covid-19 crisis led to the creation of their mobile concert experience, The Stay at Home Tour, which took the duo to 194 neighborhoods in 2020-21. The pair is currently recording their fourth album of poignant original songs and continuing to foster their tight-knit fan community across the US.

Chatham Rabbits - Duo - Night 2 of 2

These are partially seated shows.There is something warm and instantly familiar about the beloved roots duo, Chatham Rabbits. Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through deft songwriting and a history that comes from building a life together. Leaning into each other's strengths, their songs present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the pure adoration of fans along the way and earned them praise from Garden &amp; Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression.&nbsp;Their artistry hinges on a fervent desire to connect with others through the music that first brought the pair together. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music. Chatham Rabbits recorded and released their beloved debut album, All I Want From You in 2019. This set the standard for their sophomore release The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full—the centerpiece song “Oxen” was named “Top Folk Song of 2020” by Paste Magazine. Nurtured by central North Carolina’s fertile, influential music scene, Chatham Rabbits’ sound continues to evolve in their expansive third album, If You See Me Riding By (2022), which was simultaneously released with a television series, On the Road with Chatham Rabbits, on PBS-NC. The McCombies ingenuity during the Covid-19 crisis led to the creation of their mobile concert experience, The Stay at Home Tour, which took the duo to 194 neighborhoods in 2020-21. The pair is currently recording their fourth album of poignant original songs and continuing to foster their tight-knit fan community across the US

Chatham Rabbits - 2 Night Pass - Feb 22 & 23

This is a partially seated show.There is something warm and instantly familiar about the beloved roots duo, Chatham Rabbits. Partners in music and life, Chatham Rabbits’ Austin and Sarah McCombie blend their personal histories through deft songwriting and a history that comes from building a life together. Leaning into each other's strengths, their songs present a congenial, collaborative spirit that has captured the pure adoration of fans along the way and earned them praise from Garden &amp; Gun Magazine, American Songwriter, and No Depression.&nbsp;Their artistry hinges on a fervent desire to connect with others through the music that first brought the pair together. Steeped in the regional traditions of their North Carolina home, Chatham Rabbits’ musical pursuits represent a new age of roots music. Chatham Rabbits recorded and released their beloved debut album, All I Want From You in 2019. This set the standard for their sophomore release The Yoke is Easy, The Burden is Full—the centerpiece song “Oxen” was named “Top Folk Song of 2020” by Paste Magazine. Nurtured by central North Carolina’s fertile, influential music scene, Chatham Rabbits’ sound continues to evolve in their expansive third album, If You See Me Riding By (2022), which was simultaneously released with a television series, On the Road with Chatham Rabbits, on PBS-NC. The McCombies ingenuity during the Covid-19 crisis led to the creation of their mobile concert experience, The Stay at Home Tour, which took the duo to 194 neighborhoods in 2020-21. The pair is currently recording their fourth album of poignant original songs and continuing to foster their tight-knit fan community across the US

Chatham Rabbits - Full Band - Night 1 of 2

The Tan and Sober Gentlemen

Hailing from both the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the Rangers have long held traditional bluegrass paramount, while possessing an exceptional ability to bring it down the mountain, and to incorporate accessible influence from all walks of the region. With the band’s last few albums, they have gained recognition from well beyond the world of bluegrass, earning a reputation as some of the most influential songwriters in Americana today. Newcomer to this ship, Aaron Burdett, brings a soul-stirring element to the Rangers’ mastery of mountain music. Burdett is an award-winning singer-songwriter, and a student of folk tradition. He provides a fresh, emotional context to the songbook, which “can reach out and touch your heart or slap you in the face,” to use the praise of drummer and multi-instrumentalist, Mike Ashworth. Steep Canyon Rangers is made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals.Over the band’s esteemed career, the three-time Grammy nominees have released 14 studio albums, three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and appeared on some of music’s biggest stages. In 2013, Nobody Knows You won the GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album, while 2012’s Rare Bird and 2020’s North Carolina Songbook garnered nominations in the same category.&nbsp;

Steep Canyon Rangers - Night 2 of 2

Hailing from both the Appalachian and Piedmont regions of North Carolina, the Rangers have long held traditional bluegrass paramount, while possessing an exceptional ability to bring it down the mountain, and to incorporate accessible influence from all walks of the region. With the band’s last few albums, they have gained recognition from well beyond the world of bluegrass, earning a reputation as some of the most influential songwriters in Americana today. Newcomer to this ship, Aaron Burdett, brings a soul-stirring element to the Rangers’ mastery of mountain music. Burdett is an award-winning singer-songwriter, and a student of folk tradition. He provides a fresh, emotional context to the songbook, which “can reach out and touch your heart or slap you in the face,” to use the praise of drummer and multi-instrumentalist, Mike Ashworth. Steep Canyon Rangers is made up of Graham Sharp on banjo and vocals, Mike Guggino on mandolin/mandola and vocals, Aaron Burdett on guitar and vocals, Nicky Sanders on fiddle and vocals, Mike Ashworth on drums and vocals, and Barrett Smith on bass, guitar, and vocals.Over the band’s esteemed career, the three-time Grammy nominees have released 14 studio albums, three collaborative albums with actor and banjoist Steve Martin, been inducted into the North Carolina Music Hall of Fame, and appeared on some of music’s biggest stages. In 2013, Nobody Knows You won the GRAMMY Award for Best Bluegrass Album, while 2012’s Rare Bird and 2020’s North Carolina Songbook garnered nominations in the same category.

Steep Canyon Rangers - Night 1 of 2

Super Bowl viewing party on February 9. Doors at six -show on at 6:30. Come join your neighbors and watch the Super Bowl at the Haw River Ballroom. We will have chairs out on the main floor and the game on the big screen. You’re welcome to bring food inside and we’ll have a cash bar open downstairs. No outside alcohol is allowed. Halftime Kendrick Lamar dance party!

Superbowl Watch Party

This is a costume party. Wear a Renaissance costume, some other historical costume from before 1600, or pick one from our rolling costume closet.<ul><li>All state and local laws concerning alcohol and contraband will be strictly enforced, of course.<h2>Activities</h2><h3>Dancing</h3>We will be learning and doing dances of a wide range of styles and speeds so there is something for everyone.<ul><li>Bouncy dancing – got it!</li><li>Courtly, elegant dancing – got it!</li><li>Weaving through other lines of people – got it!</li><li>Spinning about to show off your fancy clothes – got it!</li></ul><h3>Singing</h3>Between dance sets, we’ll sing some fun and easy rounds from the Tudor era.<h3>Runway</h3>If you like, saunter down the catwalk in your fancy outfit.<h2>Contests</h2><h3>Costume Contest</h3>Have you put together a great outfit? Tell us about it. Separate prizes for the most authentic Tudor outfit and the cutest kid outfit.<h2>Admission</h2>$25 Adults (18+)Youth 6-17 $15Children 0-5 FREE</li></ul>5:00 PM Doors &amp; costume closet open5:30 PM Orientation for new dancers6:00 PM First dance set6:45 PM Singing rounds7:00 PM Second dance set7:45 PM Costume Runway8:00 PM Third dance set8:45 PM Closing ceremonies9:00 PM Return borrowed costumes9:30 PM Doors close

Sir Walter Raleigh Costume Ball

This show is standing room."I've been in the game a long time, but I've always considered myself a student," says G. Love. "Finishing this album with Keb Mo' felt like graduation."Recorded in Nashville with a slew of special guests including Robert Randolph, Marcus King, and Roosevelt Collier, 'The Juice' is indeed diploma-worthy. Co-produced and co-written with GRAMMY-winning icon Keb Mo,' it's an electrifying collection, one that tips its cap to more than a century of blues greats even as it offers its own distinctly modern pop spin on the genre, mixing programmed beats and hip-hop grooves with blistering guitar and sacred steel. G. Love's lyrics are both personal and political here, artfully balancing his appreciation for the simple joys in life with his obligation to speak out for justice and equality, and his performances are suitably riotous and rousing to match, with infectious call-and-response hooks and funky sing-along choruses at every turn. Easy as it is to succumb to cynicism these days, the songs on 'The Juice' refuse, insisting instead on hope and determination in the face of doubt and despair.“I've always tried to make music that's a force for positivity," G. Love explains. "It was important to me that this album be something that could empower the folks who are out there fighting the good fight every day. I wanted to make a rallying cry for empathy and unity."Born Garrett Dutton in Philadelphia, PA, G. Love grew up equally enthralled with folk, blues, and rap, devouring everything from Lead Belly and Run D.M.C. to John Hammond and the Beastie Boys. After migrating to Boston, he and his band, Special Sauce, broke out in 1994 with their Gold-selling self-titled debut, which earned widespread critical acclaim for its bold vision and adventurous production. Over the next twenty-five years, G. Love would go on to release seven more similarly lauded studio studios albums with Special Sauce (plus four solo albums on his own), solidifying his place in music history as a genre-bending pioneer with a sound The New York Times described as "a new and urgent hybrid" and NPR called a "musical melting pot." G. Love's magnetic stage presence, meanwhile, made him a fixture on festival lineups from Bonnaroo to Lollapalooza, and his relentless appetite for tour and collaboration landed him on the road and in the studio with artists as diverse as Lucinda Williams, Dave Matthews, The Avett Brothers, Jack Johnson, and DJ Logic.While G. Love has covered considerable sonic ground during his prolific career, he's always found himself drawn back to the blues, and to one bluesman in particular."Keb Mo' and I got signed to the same label at the same time back when I first started out, and we toured together early on in my career," G. Love remembers. "He used to introduce me onstage as 'a true American original,' and I could tell that he got a kick out of what I did. We didn't see each other for a while after that, but a few years ago we reconnected and did a co-headline tour, which was really special for me."Two decades after they'd first hit the road together, the unlikely duo picked up right where they left off, and after a couple late-night jam sessions, G. Love pitched Keb Mo' on producing his next album. The pair decided to test the waters with a writing session first, teaming up with GRAMMY-winner Gary Nicholson (famed for his work with B.B. King, Buddy Guy, Willie Nelson, and Ringo Starr among others) for a week in Nashville, where they penned a handful of tunes based on phrases G. Love had saved in his phone or rough demos he'd recorded at home on Cape Cod. Those tracks quickly became fan favorites on the road, and G. Love knew he was on to something special."I got wrapped up in touring and in my Jamtown project with Donovan Frankenreiter and Cicso Adler after that first session, and even though I really enjoyed working with Keb Mo' and Gary, it was a year-and-a-half before I was able to get back down to Nashville to finish writing the album with them."When it came time to record, Keb Mo' was meticulous, working closely with G. Love in the studio on nearly every aspect of his performances. While G. Love was used to creating raw, loose albums by the seat of his pants, Keb Mo' worked in a much more deliberate, methodical fashion, building songs up like a hip-hop producer. He'd create a beat on his keyboard, lay down a bass line, and then coach G. Love through the tracks sometimes line-by-line."He was always impressing on me where to place the emphasis and how to phrase my lyrics and guitar playing in relation to the beat," G. Love explains. "He'd tell me to sing like I had a shovel in my hands and I was digging on the one."The resulting mix of G. Love's idiosyncratic style and Keb Mo's old-school influence proves intoxicating on 'The Juice,' which opens with the shuffling, anthemic title track. "We got the juice / We got the love / We got the dreams / We had enough," G. Love sings, setting the stage for an album all about recognizing your power to impact the world around you in ways both big and small. The infectious "Birmingham," for instance, is an ode to perseverance when , while the funky "Go Crazy" cuts loose in the face of our maddening 24-hour news cycle, and the relentless "Shake Your Hair" rattles off a head-spinning list of modern ills before declaring "donate, don't wait, spread love don't hate.""I've never been the kind of guy who thinks he's going to change the world with his guitar," reflects G. Love. "But maybe I can write the kind of songs that give strength and encouragement to the people who are out there doing the work to make this planet a better place. Those are the people I want to lift up with my music."When G. Love sings about making the world a better place, he's not just singing about politics, though, and 'The Juice' serves as a beautiful exploration of the ways we can brighten our own little worlds and the worlds of those we care about on a daily basis. The gritty "SoulBQue" is a celebration of community and friendship, while the rootsy "She's The Rock" pays tribute to all the little ways lovers can lift each other up, and the breezy "Diggin' Roots" spins cultivating a garden into a metaphor for the importance of tending to your home and family and neighbors."I was going through a tough time in my life when I met my fiancé, but my whole world seemed to turn around after that," says G. Love. "I started meditating, we had a son, and we moved out to the Cape. That's when I stopped writing breakup songs and started writing love songs and family songs and friendship songs."Life is good for G. Love these days, and he's not taking a moment of it for granted. In fact, in just the past few years alone he's launched his own beer collaboration with Oregon's Good Life Brewery (The Juice IPA), started his own festival in Massachusetts (The Cape Cod Roots &amp; Blues Festival), and founded his own record label, Philadelphonic, which he aims to use as an outlet for curating both music and visual art (the cover of 'The Juice' features a brand new work G. Love commissioned from renowned painter Greg Haberny)."I'm more inspired right now than I've ever been before," G. Love reflects. "I feel more thoughtful, seasoned, marinated, confident. I'm making the records I've always wanted to make."Cue "Pomp and Circumstance."

G. Love and Special Sauce

Celebrate Black History Month at the Haw River Ballroom on February 23! Featuring music from a live DJ, dancing, games and fun!

Rap & Spades: Celebrate Black History Month

This show is standing room.Donna The Buffalo is not just a band, rather one might say that Donna The Buffalo has become a lifestyle for its members and audiences. Since 1989, the roots rockers have played thousands of shows and countless festivals including Bonnaroo, Newport Folk Festival, Telluride, Austin City Limits Festival, Merle Fest, and Philadelphia Folk Festival. They’ve opened for The Dead and have toured with Peter Rowan, Del McCoury, Los Lobos, Little Feat, Jim Lauderdale, Rusted Root, and Railroad Earth to name a few. They also toured with Ben &amp; Jerry’s co-founder Ben Cohen to help raise awareness about increased corporate spending in politics. In 1991, the band started the Finger Lakes Grassroots Festival in Trumansburg, NY. The four day festival has become an annual destination for over 15,000 music lovers every year and was started as an AIDS benefit. It continues as a benefit for arts and education. To date, the event has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars and is now one of three Grassroots Festivals; the Bi-annual Shakori Hills fest in North Carolina and Virginia Key festival in Florida. In 2016 GrassRoots Culture Camp was introduced in Trumansburg, New York as four days of music, art, dance and movement workshops, including nightly dinners and dances.

Donna the Buffalo (NEW DATE)

This show is standing room."The past isn't finished with us yet. Love can be like that, too. A couple of years ago I found love in different forms leaving my life at once. In a single month I lost my closest group of friends, my 13-year relationship ended, and my dad was diagnosed with cancer. I had just stopped touring to write the next Blind Pilot album, but instead I was watching each of my plans unthread as a new season pulled forward relentlessly."Avoiding suffering, is avoiding real happiness too. My reason to tell this story isn't because it broke me and pinned me breathless. There was suffering, but those two years, as I moved to my hometown to help my parents through my dad's sickness and eventually his death, also brought me true closeness, a deeper will to care and hope, and many moments of beauty I can barely describe."This album came from love for my family, my town, my friends, my community. We don't have to be so afraid of loss. We can speak and share its name, knowing we are together in it. If these songs are invitations to talk about loss and death, the invitation is to talk closely of the courage we find when we face loss honestly, cracked open and unsure of what we will become."- Blind Pilot's Israel NebekerBlind Pilot's 'And Then Like Lions' on ATO Records is the third LP from the Portland, Oregon-based sextet consisting of frontman Israel Nebeker, fellow founding member Ryan Dobrowski, Luke Ydstie, Kati Claborn, Ian Krist and Dave Jorgensen. The album was produced by Israel Nebeker and Tucker Martine (The Decemberists, Neko Case, My Morning Jacket), and was written and composed by Nebeker. It comes five years after the band's well-received 'We Are the Tide' and three years after Nebeker thought he'd be starting the songs that would become the band's third album.'And Then Like Lions' opens with "Umpqua Rushing," the first single from the album and the track that most directly deals with the end of his relationship. It's inspired by memories of visiting the Umpqua River with his then girlfriend. The song connects images of a forest fire to the destruction and new beginning found in love's wake."Umpqua Rushing" has a strong, mid-tempo flow built on major chords and rich instrumentation that matches the river the song's named for. Nebeker's voice soars on strings to an uplifting ending, and it's as vulnerable and open as he's ever been.Packed Powder is an upbeat, solidly-driven song filled with elevated textures of guitar hooks and trumpets. It comes from an idea Nebeker had as a teenager, when he and his friends found they could repack fireworks to different outcomes: "We're all made of the same stuff, but who knows how we're packed and what we'll show as we burn across the black sky of our own time?" The song speaks lightheartedly of ironic outcomes when trying to better a life through different career paths, and then sings a chorus that surrenders and desires life to reveal what we are made of.'And Then Like Lions' ends triumphantly on "Like Lions," a song inspired by various stories of courage Nebeker has whitenessed in his recent years, including watching his father fight for life and, before the end, find strength enough to give himself and be at peace with his own mortality.Blind Pilot has performed on Ellen and The Late Show with David Letterman, at the Newport Folk Festival, Bonnaroo, and Lollapalooza. The group has shared stages with The Shins, Local Natives, Andrew Bird, and more. The project began in 2007 when Israel and co-founding member Ryan Dobrowski went on a West Coast tour via bicycle. Blind Pilot's six members recorded for this new album and will tour through 2016.

Blind Pilot

This show is standing room.“The best and most emotionally direct album Umphrey’s McGee have ever made.” -David Fricke&nbsp;In the twenty-four years since eclectic improv-rock band Umphrey’s McGee formed, their sound has been an amalgamation of genres, moods, and tempos, effortlessly flowing from one feeling to the next throughout an album or concert—or sometimes within a singular song. But with time and repetition comes wisdom and maturity, both personally and musically, and in the case of the band’s new album Asking For A Friend, Umphrey’s McGee entered the recording studio with something to say and a wise, measured way to say it. The end result is an astoundingly cohesive fourteen-song album that feels like a fresh statement from a group of world-class musicians and friends reapproaching their craft with a new lens. But long-time fans will be happy to know that the Umphrey’s McGee they know and love is still very much present on Asking For A Friend, just more refined. More focused.C

Umphrey's McGee

Tycho is embarking on their first headlining tour since 2020. Following the release of Weather in 2019, the band returns to their roots, delivering their signature blend of electronic dance music and melody-driven instrumental post-rock. Scott Hansen’s creative vision, delicate melodies, and mesmerizing soundscapes take on new energy in the live setting, thanks to the incredible drumming of Rory O’Connor and an immersive visual experience. With guitarist/bassist Zac Brown and multi-instrumentalist Billy Kim rounding out the lineup, Tycho has been captivating fans for over a decade.

Tycho

In 2017 Holly &amp; Paige of Celestial Dreamers began as a duo in Southern California. They’ve dialed in their motivating and uplifting sound to include Progressive styles, Techno, and Trance; coloringtheir DJ sets with grit and darker sounds in contrast with euphoric melodies.In 2024 they were granted the Theresa Velasquez Memorial Fellowship with LP Giobbi’s Femme House label. The duo has been enjoying their music production journey and education - finishingoriginal music, remixes, and exploring Mixing &amp; Mastering techniques.This year they’ve supported Eli &amp; Furr, Manic Focus, Marsh, and Bexxie, and also premiered a new radio show called “Starlight Sessions” which releases new episodes every month on YouTube.

New Year's Eve Rave

The BFG Holiday Reunion is a over 20 year tradition!This show is standing room.

Big Fat Gap Holiday Reunion Show

Culture Mill's Tango &amp; Chill is a quarterly workshop offering that expands community through playful movement practice. To help us expand our community, please bring consider bringing a friend new to Culture Mill!Through Argentine Tango, we invite you to discover a practice that has deeply informed Culture Mill's leadership and followership style. We will start with a gentle warm-up that will bring awareness to the body and a sense of availability, finding balance and easefulness in basic exercises of tango alone and in connection to a partner. As you are guided you through this embodied experience, you will also learn how the basic principles of tango such as leading, following, deep listening, playfulness, centeredness, togetherness away from sameness, moment to moment presence, and posture that have helped shape Culture Mill's ethos.&nbsp;This workshop is open to all. No experience, no partner necessary!Tango &amp; Chill is donation-based (free for all Patreon sustainers and current supporters) -- pay what you wish via Venmo, PayPal or cash.

Tango and Chill

This show is standing room.When Rose-Garcia went into the studio with his band, he realized he didn’t have songs, but rather soundtrack ideas. “I sent them all a link to some of the soundtrack stuff. We came up with this way to record where we went through them like themes. I came up with the plot of an imaginary movie. And we started to treat it like a soundtrack to a movie.”“Movie Of The Week is definitely more on the lush side,” he continues. “I'm really excited about making this more like a project than an album.”The album also features the recently released “<a target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer nofollow" href="https://shakeygraves.fanlink.to/RON">Ready or Not</a>,” a duet with rising star Sierra Ferrell. The song is already a streaming hit and continues to climb with over 15M spins globally.Shakey Graves has undergone a myriad of personal and sonic evolutions since its inception in 2011. Beginning as a solo music project, to now being accompanied by a full band, Rose-Garcia depicted the journey in ways such as changing his album covers from black and white to color, mirroring the musical growth. With beginnings in the folk-rock space—even winning “Best Emerging Artist” at the Americana Music Awards—he went on to move away from much of the stripped-down, folk sound and began drawing on influences such as The Beatles, The Kinks, Elliot Smith, Broken Social Scene, Built to Spill and other 90’s indie rock bands.Through the years, Rose-Garcia has always found innovative ways to engage his fan base—from burning CDs and putting them in personalized bags, to building intricate scavenger hunts sending fans around the city following trails of clues to find exclusive tapes, to sharing Bandcamp-only releases in the age of the DSPs—he is intentional in everything he does and aims to create a unique experience and adventure for each fan.With Movie of the Week, Rose-Garcia will continue to expand upon the idea of his fans controlling the destiny of the music in an even bigger way—stay tuned for more info to come.

Shakey Graves

This show is standing room.The holiday tour spirit returns! No this is not a "holiday song review," CCL plays their rocking catalog of original tunes with special guest John Mailander who guested on the latest release "Hiyo." John will also play an opening set of music at 8pm. See you there!

This show is seated show.Reared in Georgia and now settled in North Carolina, Jake Xerxes Fussell has established himself as a devoted listener and contemplative interpreter of a vast array of so-called folk songs, lovingly sourced from a personal store of favorites. On his latest album, When I’m Called—his first LP for Fat Possum, and his first as a parent—Fussell returns to a well of music that holds lifelong sentimental meaning, loosely contemplating the passage of time and the procession of life’s unexpected offerings.&nbsp;The album was produced by James Elkington and mixed by Tucker Martine. In addition to Elkington, it features the playing of Ben Whiteley (The Weather Station), Joe Westerlund (Bon Iver, Califone), and others. Blake Mills contributes guitars on several tracks. Joan Shelley and Robin Holcomb provide backing vocals.&nbsp;“…Fussell is the rare contemporary to approach folk in its pure form, shunning self-penned compositions about bummer relationships to concentrate on material handed down from bygone, hardened times.” – The New Yorker“(Fussell) is one of the great magpies of American song, collecting forgotten, tarnished gems with a folklorist’s zeal… his renditions aren’t so much cover versions as composites…” – The Guardian“…maybe the leading interpreter of American folk music right now.” – Ann Powers, NPR

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