Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley

This is a seated show. Take a 15-time IBMA (International Bluegrass Music Association) Dobro Player of the Year and a Tennessee-born guitar prodigy called “Nashville’s hottest young player” by Acoustic Guitar magazine, and you have Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley, a powerhouse acoustic duo that has electrified the acoustic music scene around the world. Known for their white-hot picking and world class musicianship, as well as their soulful stone country vocals, the GRAMMY® nominated duo cleverly and uniquely melds bluegrass, country, blues, rock, jamgrass, and string band music of all kinds to create a signature blend of music that defies restrictions of genre. NPR has called Ickes and Hensley “two musical phenoms”; Vintage Guitar raved they’re an “acoustic firestorm” who “are changing the rules”; Acoustic Guitar describes their sound as “steel-string bluegrass with all the intensity of rock ‘n’ roll” and No Depression observed they’re “two of the finest musicians playing today.” Ickes and Hensley have shared the stage or collaborated with Tommy Emmanuel, Taj Mahal, Vince Gill, David Grisman, Jorma Kaukonen, Marty Stuart, and Steve Wariner—all admirers of the duo. Ickes, the most decorated musician in IBMA Awards history and former founding member of bluegrass “supergroup” Blue Highway and highly sought-after Dobro master, has graced the recordings and concerts of artists such as Earl Scruggs, Merle Haggard, Alison Krauss, Tony Rice and more. Hensley, who earned IBMA Guitar Player of the Year nominations for the past three years, made his Grand Ole Opry debut at the age of 11 (thanks to an invite from Marty Stuart with Earl Scruggs) and has appeared on stage with the likes of Johnny Cash, Peter Frampton and Old Crow Medicine Show. All three of the Compass Records albums released by Ickes and Hensley have received widespread acclaim, including their debut Before The Sun Goes Down, which garnered a GRAMMY® nomination, and the combo’s current release World Full of Blues, which features collaborations with Vince Gill and Taj Mahal. Ickes and Hensley teamed with guitar master Tommy Emmanuel for a very special EP, Tommy Emmanuel – Accomplice Series Vol. I With Rob Ickes and Trey Hensley (released May 7, 2021 via Emmanuel’s label, CGP Sounds) to critical acclaim. The three high-powered guitar virtuosos performed together on the Grand Ole Opry on May 8, 2021 and from famed Nashville venue 3rd & Lindsley on May 9, 2021 via worldwide broadcasts to celebrate the release of the project. Ickes and Hensley have completed their fourth record for Compass Records with GRAMMY®-winning producer Brent Maher, which is set for release in early 2023. Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | YouTube

vagaries

Formed in early 2022 and based in Brooklyn, NY, vagaries is an indie/rock band blending psychedelia, low-fi and dream elements. vagaries consist of gary tedder on guitar and vocals, teresa tedder on keys and danny boivin on drums. From Talkhouse: “Open Waves” is our new single and debut video release, which comes on the heels of a 7-inch we self-released last year. This song was written before the formation of the band a few years ago and has taken on many forms. Originally, what was a simple three-minute composition of guitar and vocals has now transformed into a six-minute sonic journey that delves into lo-fi psychedelic indie rock — encompassing not only guitar and vocals, but an array of piano, various synthesizers, drums, bass, accordion, and pre recorded 4-track cassette elements. The narrative of this song at its core is about the fleeting moments of joy one finds when we let go of our immediate restraints, worries, and fears, and allow ourselves to be free and grasp at the unknown with childlike fervor; seeking a better state of being, if only in our heads or in moments in time. The narrative of this song can actually be interpreted in many different ways from listener to listener as we write our lyrics in metaphors, but this sums up how we felt about it when we finished it. The stop motion video for “Open Waves” continues this narrative as we see it in visual form. Teresa and I started the production a little over a year ago. It began with sketching out scenes and characters that we wanted to include and what their roles would be. We tossed around a lot different ideas as to how to create the characters, but finally settled on making some of them out of clay, and some out of found objects in our home. The entire video was shot and edited at our home and is our first attempt at making a music video, so these homemade characters fit the overall aesthetic. Once the filming and editing were finished, we sent it to Frank Ditto’s Studio for color grading, picture finishing, and additional audio mastering for film. Just as in the song, you are taken on a journey with the protagonist through stages of seeking a better state of being through imaginary landscapes of mind and then ultimately back again to reality. Vagaries featured in Rolling Stone Mexico’s “20 Artists You Should Know Bandcamp | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube | Linktree

Jake Xerxes Fussell

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 Website | Instagram | Facebook | Spotify | Tidal

Hege V, Secret Monkey Weekend

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Carolina Waves Showcase & Open Mic

Hosted by Mir.I.am ALL AGES. FREE TO PERFORM. FLASHDRIVES ONLY. $15 ENTRY.INSTRUMENTS WELCOME WHERE / EARLY ARRIVAL HIGHLY SUGGESTED. Email [email protected] with questions

¡Tumbao! It’s A Hot One Summer Tour 2024

Coming off from a record-setting international tour for the nine person Psychedelic Latin Fusion ensemble, – having shared the stage with Grammy Award winning acts like Kabaka Pyramid, Proyecto Uno, and legend Mavis Staples, with performances at stages such as the Grassroots Festival Circuit, The Smithsonian, a featured artist at Jazz in the Garden in Washington, DC and CocoJazz Fest in Lima, Peru – the band has reached a new height of popularity, expanding its fanbase beyond its original Latin American and East Coast roots. Website | Instagram | Facebook

Dr. Bacon, Hustle Souls, The Up and Up

Bats & Mice

In 2012, two of the founding members of the seminal punk trio Bats & Mice stepped into the studio to start work on their follow-up to 2010’s “Back In Bat” EP. Then, between babies and careers, life happened, and the project went dark for almost a decade. Bats & Mice is a band that has quietly crept through the music world. Three members of Sleepytime Trio originally formed the band: Jonathan Fuller (Engine Down, Denali), Dave NeSmith (Rah Bras, Committees) and Ben Davis (MileMarker, Committees). They began writing songs together in a new style that pursued their hardcore roots coupled with a more dark and winding sense of melody. However, the music still maintained the energy and drive of their previous efforts. This line-up produced Bats & Mice’s first work, a self-titled EP released on Lovitt Records in the fall of 2000, to critical acclaim. Friends Daron Hollowel and Ash Bruce from the band 400 Years joined for a stint in which ‘Bats’ wrote and released the full-length album entitled, “Believe It Mammals”, on Lovitt in the spring of 2002. That line-up toured to support the LP across the US, playing with Fugazi, Ted Leo and the Pharmacists, 90 Day Men, Denali, and Gregor Samsa. In 2004, Luke Herbst joined the band on drums, and the band toured Europe in support of a new EP titled “A Person Carrying a Handmade Paper Bag is Considered as a Royal Person”. Jonathan Fuller rejoined the group and helped write and record the “Back In Bat” EP, released in 2010. Soon after, Mark Oates (from Wailin Storms) took over the drums for Jonathan and helped write new songs as the band headed into the studio to record the basic tracks for an LP in 2012. In early 2023, the band reconvened in Chapel Hill’s Warrior Sound to rework the original tracking and finish a 10-song full-length record. Named “PS: Seriously.” the finished LP is finally coming to light in 2024 to be released on Lovitt. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook

Fruition: How To Make Mistakes Tour

How To Make Mistakes, Fruition’s first studio album in four years, showcases a reinvigorated group at the peak of its powers. This is American roots music at its broadest and boldest: a melting pot of rock, soul, folk, and pop, co-produced by the bandmates themselves and tracked entirely live in the recording studio. What began as a busking string band has evolved into something more eclectic, rooted not only in the unique delivery of three different singers, but also the cohesion of five friends who prefer their music to be homegrown and honest… mistakes and all. From folk-rock anthems to campfire ballads, How To Make Mistakes embraces the full spread of the band’s past and present, mixing unplugged instruments with electrified arrangements. The result is an all-encompassing sound suitable for arenas one minute and front-porch picking parties the next — the sound of a band rededicating itself to the long haul, one song at a time. Website | Instagram | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube

Evan Bartels

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Genre: Miscellaneous