I was totally unprepared for Josh Moore, the opening act. There’s an acronym: IYKYK, If You Know, You Know. Well, I didn’t know. Josh Moore doesn’t have a website that I could find, has two albums on Spotify, and according to one person at the show, “sometimes plays around Chapel Hill and Carrboro, when he feels like it.” His voice is as soulful as I have ever heard. He’s not a belter, but the timing and inflection as he sang reflected a depth of connection to the lyrics that can sometimes be overshadowed when someone sings with too much volume. Halfway through his set, he was joined by Maria Quiles on percussion and harmony vocals, and their voices blended together so naturally. As soon as I got into the car after the show, I was looking up Josh Moore’s music (and videos of him playing with Andrew & Josh over 10 years ago), and I encourage you to check out his albums.

Andrew and Josh played an amazing set, a perfect mix of instrumentals, covers, and originals. I loved hearing Josh’s original songs, “Part of Life,” and “It Ain’t Over Til It’s Over.” Many of the instrumentals came from Andrew’s extensive catalogue with his string band. One of the things I appreciate about how they sing together is that the harmony isn’t obvious, kind of like Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, resulting in a deeply rich sound. And, man, they’re just having so much fun playing, and that infectious energy is so special to be around. 

It’s also amazing when some of your favorite musicians introduce you to new songs and artists. Josh sang lead on a cover of Ian Thomas’s “I Ain’t Lonesome.” With due respect to the original, Josh’s truly lonesome voice delivered the lyrics in a way that Thomas’s more polished vocal doesn’t reach. They also played an amazing version of “Who Carried You,” a song by Malcolm Holcombe. I am now utterly obsessed with that song. 

Emily Frantz joined them for a few songs at the end of the set, and both Emily, Josh Moore, and Maria Quiles were on for the last two songs of the encore. It was the perfect ending to a perfect show. 

This was the last show on Andrew & Josh’s duo run, but you can catch Watchhouse on the road this summer. 

Check out our full gallery of photos on the Red Line Roots facebook page!

The show featured a wonderful balance of songs from their fantastic latest record, Rituals, and some longtime favorites, like “Gospel Shoes,” “Old Ties and Companions,” and, of course, “Wildfire.” I really loved how they encouraged the audience to hum along with “Wildfire”–it felt communal in the best way and there was a ripple of energy through the crowd as we provided a low backdrop to that haunting song. 

One of my favorite moments of the show was when there was a sound malfunction, just because of the band’s reaction. They just kept playing and after the song, Andrew said something like, “You might have noticed that Emily’s guitar stopped going through the system midway through the song. And I thought, well I can either get distracted by that or remember that I’m playing music with my best friends here and it’s gonna be OK.” What a wonderful perspective, and it’s funny how sometimes those things that go “wrong” are what make a show feel right. 

It’s that attitude that makes Watchhouse such a fun band to see–you can feel their genuine connection to each other, the joy they have making music together, and the confidence they feel that it’s going to work out. It helps, of course, that they play beautifully and have a catalogue of songs that are incredible examples of the craft of songwriting; but I think they attained those things because of how they seem to have approached music from their beginning–that it is about community, about sharing melodies and building them together. In some ways, I think they’d still be happy playing at a pig picking, as long as they got to play. 

The show at The Pyrle was near the end of this leg of their tour. But Andrew & Josh are playing a few duo shows together in May, and Watchhouse is back on the road for most of the summer, including their annual trip to the Green Mountain Bluegrass Festival. Find tour dates here and get out to see this amazing group. 

Check out our full gallery of images on the Red Line Roots facebook page. 

I hadn’t seen Annie Lynch on a stage singing her songs for I don’t know how long. But from the moment she stepped onto the stage and opened her mouth to sing I was immediately reminded, transported back to quiet moments in the crimson glow of the Lizard Lounge or Cafe 939 or Passim seeing her weave her tales in my early days back living in Boston after college (and even before Red Line Roots existed). There is such a magic to her approach to performance and her songs. Her voice an anomaly. Delicate and entrancing, but with a wide , forceful range and ability to pull emotion from the listener in such a way that is uncanny. A very quick set with mostly newer songs, she brought out Caitlin around midway for a devastatingly beautiful duet of their co-written “Wild Heart”, which Caitlin has previously released on a record. The intertwining of their two voices, mesmerizing. I only hope this runs of shows means more of Annie back out there performing and recording her work, in whatever form that takes.

From the first chord that Caitlin Canty and her band took the stage you could tell they were revved up and ready from the previous string of shows. Totally locked and firing on all cylinders. The moment she launched into “Hotter than Hell” off of her latest release, the pure joy and emotive fire that pours from her being on a stage playing these songs with her band cascaded over the audience. Inviting us all to be a part of something truly special. That song in particular and her performance of it makes it so very evident that she truly belongs and thrives on a stage singing her songs.

Watching Jeff Berlin not just play the drums, but color each and every song with his own unique percussive take (and choice of various striking instruments laid out on a chair next to him), the pure vibe and steadfast nature of Jeremy Moses Curtis‘s bass playing acting as the glue to hold the rhythm together and Will Seeders jumping from pedal steel, to banjo and back again throughout the evening, adding the necessary layers to really make these live arrangements soar. This band is prime and truly elevates these songs in a brilliant way and hearing them in this orchestration

“Where Is the Heart of My Country” hit especially hard. With a weighty candor and authenticity, Canty striking the chords a little harder with each refrain and begging the question of what exactly is going on in the world these days. It was as fuckin’ powerful as anything I have seen in concert in recent memory.

By the time she kicked the band off stage for a tune, the reprieve of “Wore Your Ring”, coming with some backstory and banter, was a perfect ebb to the flow of the evening thus far. Even without the backing of the full band, her voice shimmers brighter than the stage lights and she commands the ability to hush a crowd beautifully.

The band back, Annie Lynch making another appearance and an old favorite in “Get Up” and a new favorite “Electric Guitar” coming into the fold tied the evening up neatly as Canty joked that us Vermonters hear “we have two songs left” and are already waiting to warm up the car, get home to tend the wood stove and get into bed.

It’s evenings like this that remind me why I love music and why it has held such an important part of my own life. The collective experience of enjoying beautiful, captivating, REAL songs in a setting with others. I left that evening with a renewed inspiration for my own work, writing and filming, and I think thats probably about the best compliment you can give to another artist.

He requested that people in the audience keep their phones away, and, to my surprise, people did. What a refreshing experience to really be able to listen without that mediated view of dozens of small screens. And it’s not just a curmudgeonly annoyance at other people–I am sometimes tempted to record part of a song that is really affecting me, and, in that process, I step out of the experience. So, it was really a beautiful thing that people just kept their phones away simply because the artist asked. 

I expected the set list to be heavy on Jason’s latest record, Foxes in the Snow, because that album is just him and a guitar. However, he started with “Dreamsicle,” followed by “24 Frames,” and “Songs That She Sang in the Shower,” and he played up and down his catalogue, including songs from his time in The Drive-By Truckers, without really favoring the new album. In total, he played four songs from Foxes, and they all felt like songs that fit right in with the rich collection he has built. “Eileen” was gorgeous, and he ended the show with “True Believer.” 

I was especially excited to hear songs like “Middle of the Morning,” and “King of Oklahoma,” which are big, electric numbers; hearing them in this setting underscored the intimacy of the stories in those songs. The acoustic renditions highlighted the vulnerable, searching lyrics of those songs in a way that can be overshadowed by a blistering guitar riff. Equally, he was able to explore some songs on the acoustic guitar with interesting chord shapes and runs that came through clear as a bell in the pin-drop quiet room. “Elephant,” was one with some added touches that only amplified the grief and helplessness, and humor in spite of the grief and helplessness, at the core of that song.

Jason’s cover of “Sunshine,” by the late Todd Snider was very special. Todd’s version is self-deprecating, but Jason’s approach was more earnest, and it was a really beautiful way to pay tribute to Todd, a songwriter’s songwriter. After the song, Jason said that Todd’s songs have the ability to make him feel so many different emotions at the exact same time. It was a touching moment of tribute to a songwriter I think many people in the audience will be discovering, thanks to Jason introducing them to his music so beautifully. 

The solo set gave Jason a little more space to tell stories too, and he explained where he was when he wrote certain songs, or the intricacies involved in starting the car that inspired “White Beretta.” He was funny and the banter between songs drew the audience in more. 

I loved this show so much I actually looked up tickets to see him again in Charlotte two nights later. Reason took hold, and I decided against the two hour drive. But I know I wouldn’t have regretted it. It was one of the best nights of music I’ve had in a while, and if you can catch this tour, it’s worth whatever drive you have to make to be there. 

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Alisa’s approach to performance has everything to do with this, of course. After the first or second song, she invited us into a guided meditation, breathing deeply, scanning our bodies, welcoming in the good, and breathing out the bad. She invited us to love ourselves just as we are. The entire show had a thread of care, of empathy, and humor that you just can’t get anywhere else.

I got to interview Alisa for the Red Line Roots podcast a couple of years ago, in 2021, just after her EP, Narratives, came out. It remains one of my favorite interviews from the podcast, because Alisa was so unguarded and thoughtful. I remember driving to pick someone up at the airport 6 or 7 months later, listening to NPR and hearing the news that Alisa had won the Tiny Desk Contest. My eyes welled up with tears of joy for this incredible musician, singer, and storyteller. I knew that winning the contest was not a golden ticket by any means; making a life in music is so improbable that it does take more than the good graces of NPR to ensure success. And, at the same time, it was an affirmation of someone whose songs deeply matter and whose voice is needed.

While I got to see Alisa perform at the Newport Folk Festival this summer, it was so enjoyable to see her headlining her own show with the incredible Eliza Edens supporting her. These are two women deeply committed to songcraft and the audience of the Cat’s Cradle showed up ready to listen. One of the things I particularly loved about Alisa’s performance was her translation of some of her songs in Spanish before she performed them. It wasn’t just that the lyrics are beautiful and gave me access to their beauty, but it also highlighted the melodic and chord considerations for the songs in a new way. For example, in one song Alisa talked about the narrator’s doubt and she said, “So it goes into this minor section,” and you could really hear the minor chords underscoring doubt and uncertainty. It is a really wonderful thing when you go into a concert loving songs and walk away from the concert understanding them in a new light.

I had circled December 14th on my calendar ever since the tour announcement was made. And even though Alisa’s current tour is over now, I encourage you to seek out her music and make sure that you capture the next time she’s in your town. That was my last show of 2024, and it will linger well into the new year. 

Check out more photos at @kentempleton_photos

If you don’t fall in love with Larry and Joe at one of their concerts, there’s something dead inside that you need to sort out right away.

Joe Troop and Larry Bellorín are not only virtuosic musicians, they are community builders, stand-up comedians, and generous performers who create a shared experience about as well as anyone I’ve ever seen. Their kindness, empathy, humor, and deep friendship come through while they play, while they banter, and in the smiles they exchange with each other throughout the show. 

Last Thursday at The Fruit, in Durham, Larry and Joe released their newest album, Manos Panamericanos, and it is nothing short of fantastic. It follows up their debut album, Nuevo South Train, with a beautiful confluence of cultures and musical styles that create a truly new and original sound while maintaining a deep reverence for the traditions that have informed their music.

One of my favorite moments of the show was when Larry and Joe played the tango, “Adiós Muchachos,” which is Joe’s grandmother’s favorite. He told an amazing story of his grandmother working at the RJ Reynolds cigarette factory while she was growing up, and coming into town early for her night shift to take tango lessons in Winston-Salem. They learned the song specifically to play for Joe’s grandmother. She approved of their efforts, and it made it on to the record.

Larry and Joe are touring extensively throughout the next year and if you need an evening of joy and beauty you should make it a point to see one of their shows. Joe is debuting a new quartet at The Fruit next Thursday, December 19, closing out his December residency. You can get tickets here. 

Check out more photos from the show at @kentempleton_photos

When introducing her Grammy-awarding winning song, “Eve Was Black,” about halfway through her incredible set Saturday evening, Allison exhorted the audience to not take a word of it as judgment–not even of those who see others as less than. “Eve Was Black,” traces some of current racism to acts of erasure–namely, that Eve, and other figures of Christianity, were white; this erasure made it easier for white people to commit their brutal actions against people of color, because they saw Black and Indigenous people as less than human. And yet, even as the song excoriates “pale kin,” they are still kin. 

I have long been amazed by Allison’s ability to both name injustice and stand in a space of forgiveness. On her first record, Outside Child, she sings, “blessings be upon the thief of my childhood,” her stepfather who abused her and subjected her to his racist beliefs. Without excusing any awful beliefs or behavior, Allison reminded the audience that people who hate are “wounded,” and need to heal. “Eve Was Black,” transitions from the sharp and bitter truths of our racist past and present to the truth and hope that we are all interconnected, as Allison sings “une famille,” proclaiming that we are all one family. It made me think of Gwendowlyn Brooks’s beautiful poem, “Paul Robeson,” which celebrates his unmistakable, powerful voice, “Warning, in music-words devout and large, that we are each other’s harvest: we are each other’s business: we are each other’s magnitude and bond.” 

Allison’s stunning band was made up of Caoimhe Hopkinson (guitar), Ganessa James (bass), Elenna Canlas (synthesizer), and Caoi de Barra (drums), and she calls them Rainbow Coalition. She credits The Black Panthers, Young Lords for her inspiration. She named the facts that are so often distorted about the Panthers, that they established food, medical, and housing programs when the city would not provide for its people. This focus on community and taking care of each other was evident from the way the group came on stage, forming a semicircle with their hands together and from the way Allison shouted out each band member’s solo projects. From the way Allison performs, it almost seems as if she feels that she is the vessel for a message spoken long ago and that will carry on long after we have all gone–a timeless message that periodic messengers take up for their time. She sings as if our lives depend on it. 

Because of some family obligations, I wasn’t able to stay for the headliner, Hozier’s set. A friend asked me, “You’re driving an hour, arriving 90 minutes before the show to avoid traffic, to see a 40-minute set, and then driving an hour home?!” Allison Russell is on a very short list of artists who are completely worth that investment. If you have tickets for this Hozier tour, make sure you catch her opening set. You can listen to Allison’s music and find tour dates at her website. 

Check out our full gallery of photos on the Red Line Roots facebook page. Follow us @redlineroots and @kt.concertphotos. 

Amythyst Kiah opened the show and immediately had the audience hooked. She opened with “Black Myself,” a song first recorded with Our Native Daughters, the insane supergroup with Allison Russell, Leyla McCalla, and Rhiannon Giddens. Amythyst is an incredibly powerful vocalist and great songwriter. I especially loved “Wild Turkey” and “Hangover Blues.” 

One of the things that Josh Ritter does best is vary his show from small and quiet moments to big, bombastic numbers featuring the full range of qualities in his band. He had people dancing in the aisles with classic songs like “Right Moves” and “Wolves.” He also knows how to perform: at one point during “Wolves,” he got down on his knees, cupping his hands so the microphone could pick up his vocal, seeming to howl at the moon.

But it is often the quieter moments that reveal his true genius as a songwriter and allow access to the vulnerability of his lyrics. The absolute highlight of the show for me was his duet with Jocie Adams on “Losing Battles” from his 2019 album The Fever Breaks. On the record, it is an electrified romp with The 400 Unit backing Josh in the studio. On this version, Jocie played clarinet and sang a beautiful harmony with Josh singing and playing guitar. The song came across as far more reflective and searching than on the album; it was something that I just hadn’t really heard before and I was so happy for this stripped down version. 

Other moments included duets with Zack and Sam. Zack and Josh performed “Strangers,” from Gathering. Josh asked for the lights to make it seem like they were in the desert, and a sepia tone overtook the stage. Zack and Josh have been singing together for so long that their harmonies are effortless and you can really see the joy that they have in playing together. Sam and Josh teamed up for “The Curse,” the first encore. The Curse is from So Runs The World Away and tells the story of a mummy who comes back to life. It feels less common today to hear songs that could be a novel or a movie, but we know that Josh has always been able to create a narrative and put his audience right in the middle of it. I feel like each time I hear this song there’s something new to consider, the way films you’ve seen before catch you by surprise with some unnoticed detail. This time, it was the way Josh emphasized the line “She asks “Are you cursed?” but his answer’s obscured / In a sandstorm of flashbulbs and rowdy reporters.” I don’t think I’d ever really noticed, “sandstorm,” before–what a perfect word for the content of the song and description of paparazzi. 

One of the interesting things about having Matt Douglas play both saxophone and guitar is that most of the songs, probably ⅔ of them, didn’t have a lead guitar part. That’s a pretty big departure for Josh’s sound. I have to say, I really loved it. It helps that Matt is just an incredible musician and his saxophone playing is always subtle and enriching. But it not only added emotional resonance, it let the lyrics shine through. Josh has a t-shirt that describes his music as “Rock and Roll With Lots and Lots of Words,” and this band arrangement made space for all those words. 

One of the sweetest parts of the show was that Josh asked on his website a few weeks before the tour started for fans to write dedications to each other. These were not song requests, because it was about dedicating our time and our commitment and our love for each other. About halfway through the show, Josh took a hat with printed dedications in it. While the band played “Sawgrass,” behind him, Josh pulled dedications from the hat to read aloud. They were from family members, friends, couples, all sharing their love for each other and their love for music in this beautiful theater and it felt like it brought us all a little closer. 

There was the dedication from one friend to another apologizing for their drifting apart, but joyful for their coming back together. There was the dedication from a husband to his wife, Erin, grateful for her recent double lung transplant. There was the dedication from father to son, only 8 years old, but with great taste in music. What a beautiful way to appreciate the fact that we can be in concert halls and theaters together again. What a beautiful way to honor the way that music opens us up to deeper relationships. What a beautiful way for audience members to feel connected to something bigger than our own individual experience. 

If you get the chance to catch Josh on this tour, I cannot recommend it enough. The songs from Spectral Lines are even better live, and have that urgent feeling of an artist sharing his work to an audience eager to listen. The band is outstanding and Josh, as ever, creates a space of joy, gratitude, and fulfillment. What more can you ask for? 

Check out the full photo gallery on the Red Line Roots facebook page. Follow @redlineroots and @kt.concertphotos on instagram. 

Most of the songs on the setlist were from Sierra’s catalog or were traditional bluegrass songs that they have reimagined. One of my favorite bluegrass classics was, “Bound to Ride,” which featured jaw-dropping solos back and forth between Justin and Sierra.

Before they played, “Ceiling to the Floor,” Justin mentioned that it had been nominated for a Grammy. With a wry smile, Sierra said, “Yes, this is my Grammy losing song,” but acknowledged that she had lost to John Prine–pretty good company. “Ceiling to the Floor” was achingly beautiful. The personal connection between Sierra and her father as she learns to find her own way is written in perfectly restrained and heartfelt lyrics. It reflects a relationship that is deeper than can be articulated, but can certainly be felt. Another standout was “Beautifully out of Place,” a song Sierra said was inspired by a conversation with Justin. Every song featured incredible musicality, but when Sierra sang her most vulnerable lyrics, you could feel the room moving closer together. 

They also featured a few of Justin’s songs during the set, including “Fall Like Rain,” and “Taxland.” My favorite, though, “In the Sweet By and By,” an instrumental song featuring Justin on the dobro. The melody is so evocative and I closed my eyes and felt completely at peace.

I would be remiss if I did not shout out Joseph Decosimo for opening the show with Libby Rodenbough on fiddle and organ, and Matthew O’Connell on percussion. Joseph was so charming, playing, among other things, the banjo that he got in 7th grade called the Aluminum Wonder. What struck me was Joseph’s dedication to intergenerational music, learning songs from Dee Hicks, Clyde Davenport, and others from Fentress County, Tennessee, where Joseph is from. His teachers of traditional music, some of whom were illiterate, have given him, and us, a gift that cannot truly be measured.

Earlier in the week, I had the pleasure of hearing Rhiannon Giddens speak about the history of the banjo–an instrument from Africa brought to America by enslaved people. The banjo was a critical cultural connection for enslaved Africans. For Rhiannon, when she set out to learn banjo, she did so from Joe Thompson, in Mebane, NC. It was an apprenticeship, she said, and that is exactly what I thought of as Joseph shared his stories of Clyde Davenport, who said, “I’ve never learned a song,” meaning that he’d always feel his way through. Even though we currently have an unprecedented myriad of ways to listen to, learn, and discover music, I can’t help but feel that Rhiannon and Joseph are onto something much richer: the idea that music is handed down, not downloaded. 

This was a very special evening. The rest of the Pinecone Down Home Concert Series is stellar and you should get out to a show!

The New Faith is an Afrofuturist consideration of our ongoing climate catastrophe. Jake alluded to the speculative fiction of N.K. Jemisin and Octavia Butler, but also reminded us that Afrofuturism has been around for a long while–ever since the invention of race. They shared scholar Isiah Lavender III’s notion that science fiction is exactly how Black people should engage with the world, because the entire idea of Blackness, and race, is a fiction rooted in (junk) science. And while it is true that all racial categories are science fiction, the creativity, imagination, and determination that manifests in Black art quite literally creates new ways of knowing, dreaming, and creating–because it has taken all of that creativity, imagination, and determination to quite literally survive. What might it take to survive our current moment? As Jake noted in the concert, those who are in positions of power should listen to people who have had the answers for a long time. 

He remarked that while the songs sound new, he is actually working with some of the oldest material of his career. “Once There Was No Sun,” takes its inspiration from Genesis and implies a warning that the darkness the world came from could be where we’re heading. Jake read an excerpt of “Interlude 2: A Poem For Children With Thoughts on Death,” by Jupiter Hammon, the first Black poet ever published in the United States. And they includes spirituals such as “Didn’t It Rain,” which Jake says they learned from the queer Black icon (and inventor of rock and roll) Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Jake used sampled beats to create driving percussion in these new songs, pairing them with his incredible band and his own virtuosic playing and singing. I loved the way Nelson Williams was freed up on bass to explore runs because of the samples. Gus Tritsch switched effortlessly between banjo-ukulele and a haunting electric guitar, and George Jackson was stunning on fiddle and banjo. Jake said that they are finding new ways to be a string band and it really feels like this group could go in any musical direction and find their place.

This night of music was restorative and challenging in the best way, confronting us with the need to think in new ways and giving us sounds to invite that thinking. Jake is on tour and you should absolutely get out to a show. The New Faith is out on Smithsonian Folkways on September 23. 

Check out more photos here!