Lonnie Rott / Chessa Rich
Lonnie Rott is a singer-songwriter in Durham, whose songs explore themes of anticapitalist anger, liberation, solidarity, and lament for the reality that everything dies at last, and too soon. Whistling in the Dark, out March 6, is an Americana-infused meditation on death produced by Charles Cleaver and featuring contributions from Anne-Claire, Dan Faust, Remona Jeannine, Chessa Rich, Libby Rodenbough, and Jimmy Washington. Chessa Rich swallowed sound at an early age, solidifying music as her internal compass. After a post-college job in Spain, she returned to North Carolina to hone the keyboard, flute and vocals that would form the bedrock of her equally jagged and ethereal style. Tracing her lines of influence from her parents’ community jazz band to the moment she encountered Radiohead in her youth, Rich has emerged as a versatile songwriter and collaborator, recording and performing with Hiss Golden Messenger and Tift Merritt, as well as putting out a 2018 EP produced by Nick Sanborn of Sylvan Esso.
Joseph Decosimo / The Horsenecks
A leading interpreter of the fiddle, banjo, and song traditions from the Appalachian South, Joseph Decosimo has introduced audiences around the world to the beauty and vitality of the region’s music. A student of the last master traditional musicians in his home region of Tennessee, Joseph draws on a well of profound creativity and repertoire to create fresh sounds. His performances are inviting and nourishing, connecting audiences to the older music’s transcendent beauty. Joseph also works outside of the traditional music world. His playing can be heard on recordings by fellow Durham, NC artists Hiss Golden Messenger, Wye Oak, Jake Xerxes Fussell, Elephant Micah, and others. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LNwTDpuFtJg&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.josephdecosimo.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE Playing original and traditional Old Time and roots music, The Horsenecks are Oregonian Gabrielle Macrae and Liverpool, England native Barry Southern. Based in Astoria, Oregon, they are two award-winning multi-instrumentalists who have come together from traditional music backgrounds and found a sound that weaves through layers of influence that include Western North Carolina’s rich fiddle and banjo tradition, classic country, early Bluegrass, and British Folk. Gabrielle is known for her fiery fiddling, clawhammer banjo playing and unique songwriting. Barry’s playing ranges from moody to high-octane, whether flatpicking, playing three-finger, clawhammer banjo, or fiddling, all while bringing the richness of the singing traditions of the British Isles to the stage. Their powerful harmony singing is showcased through their catalogue of original material, all inspired by the traditional music they have spent their musical lives steeped in. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TmTNaN4Z3Zc
Dan Bern / Charles Latham
Dan Bern is a captivating live performer with a loyal, multi-generational following. He has written thousands of songs, released dozens of albums, and played shows across North America and Europe–from coffee shops to Carnegie Hall. Bern’s songs have appeared in numerous films and TV shows, including Judd Apatow’s “Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story,” “Get Him to the Greek“ and “The Bubble.” He appeared as himself in the 2022 Hannukah film “Menorah in the Middle” on Hulu, and wrote and performed 2 seasons of songs for Amazon Prime’s award-winning kids program, “The Stinky & Dirty Show.” A true renaissance artist, Bern is the author of some dozen books of stories and poems and is a prolific painter. His online “Hunkered in the Bunker” shows have a passionate community of followers, while his topical sports songs are regularly featured on “The Tony Kornheiser Show.” He was recently inducted into the Iowa Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Charles Latham Opening! “Latham’s music is passionate with biting wit.” –NPR”Reminiscent of the glorious sloppiness of Neil Young & Crazy Horse.” – Folk Radio UK “One of the sharpest songwriters to emerge of late on the antifolk sphere…Charles Latham could be your new hero.” – INDY Weekly Charles Latham is a singular voice in the North Carolina music scene — a bold and imaginative songwriter whose sharp wit, emotional depth, and magnetic performances have earned him comparisons to legends like Bob Dylan, John Prine, and Robyn Hitchcock. After years of crisscrossing the U.S. and U.K., Latham put down roots in Durham, NC, in 2014. His 2017 album, Little Me Time, highlighted his talent for pairing razor-sharp lyrics with compelling melodies and expansive production. To bring his songs to life on stage, Latham formed The Borrowed Band, an ensemble of some of the region’s most respected musicians, including former members of Ben Folds Five, Shooter Jennings, and 6 String Drag. Together, they deliver a captivating blend of ballads and barnstormers, drawing on the chemistry of vintage duets like Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris while adding a modern twist.
Crys Matthews / Flamy Grant / Jennifer Knapp
Crys Matthews, the poster child for intersectionality and Flamy Grant, the “Bible Belt Baby” are teaming up once again to pick up where the Winter Magic Tour left off, and they’re bringing some friends. This December, the Make the Yuletide Gay tour is hitting the road with Jennifer Knapp, Heather Mae, and Spencer LaJoy to spread a little holiday cheer and a whole lot of faith-infused LGBTQ+ joy! Armed with a bold lip and a blistering voice, Flamy Grant is brilliant, resilient proof that nothing is sacred (but everything is holy) and shame belongs in the closet. A preacher’s kid and former drum major, troubadour of truth Crys Matthews is among the brightest stars of the new generation of social justice music-makers. With new releases under their belts, both Matthews and Grant are joining forces with three other artists who also use the art to light up these dark times.
Mariee Siou / Donnie Coco
Mariee Siou has been a fixture in the Neo-folk scene since her 2007 debut “Faces in the Rocks”—now acclaimed as a cult classic in the indie music world. She is revered for her delicate finger picking and poetic mysticism, often drawing, as from the ether, immense feeling through a voice of soft potency and otherworldly wordsmithing. She is known as a healing singer and as being a visionary artist, channeling and transmitting medicinal qualities through her music. Mariee Siou has extensively toured Europe and the US, and opened for acclaimed artists like Mazzy Star, Buffy St. Marie, Bert Jansch, Brightblack Morning Light, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy, and Joanna Newsom. In 2021 she played Le Guess Who? In Utrecht, Netherlands, at the invitation of Phil Elverum of The Microphones/Mt. Eerie, and she continues to tour the US and Europe. Donnie Coo Lifelong multi-instrumentalist and Philadelphia based singer-songwriter Donnie CoCo fearlessly explores the landscape of grief, modeling a determined and curious effort to grow upward from a place of pain. For fans of Jaala, Nai Palm, and Jeff Buckley—Donnie’s soulful voice and tongue-in-cheek lyrics haunt listeners as potently as their dynamic guitar finger-picking with playful musicality. Donnie CoCo’s debut single ‘Bad Word’ was recorded at Office Ours on Knox in Germantown and released independently in July 2024. It will be followed up with a full length record in 2025.
Joseph Decosimo / Luke Richardson / Cleep Shrey + Alice Gerrard
Durham record release show for “Beehive Cathedral”— Joseph Decosimo, Luke Richardson, and Cleek Schrey’s exploration of the ring, buzz, and hum of Southern traditional music. Durham’s own Alice Gerrard will be joining the show as well. Working with fiddle, hardanger d’amore (a fiddle with sympathetic strings), banjos, and pump organ, the new recording captures both the sonic details of their instruments and a generous musical interplay rooted in a dozen years of collaboration. The results showcase deep study and enveloping, exhilarating performances filled with tonal ambiguity, drone, and bittersweet dissonance. The members of the trio are veteran performers in the Old-time scene, where they’ve worked with renowned string bands The Bucking Mules and Bigfoot. Beehive Cathedral draws on the group’s experiences making music together at Southern fiddlers’ conventions, in the back of NYC pubs, on stages, and in their homes. It also sources energy from their broader musical lives, in Durham, NYC, and Tennessee.
EARLY SHOW: Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage, w/ Stray Owls
Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage (NYC, Don Giovanni Records)Songwriter and comix artist Jeffrey Lewis began recording homemade cassettes in New York City in 1998; his critically acclaimed, unusual and word-dense songs lead to Jeffrey signing to Rough Trade Records in 2001 (record label of The Smiths, The Strokes, Belle & Sebastian, etc.). Creating a brilliant style of scuzzy urban indie-rock-folk, like a 21st Century mash-up of Sonic Youth, Pete Seeger and R. Crumb, Jeffrey has played countless gigs all over the world, both solo and with bandmates, including playing as the opening act for bands like the Mountain Goats, Daniel Johnston, Stephen Malkmus & The Jicks, Dinosaur Jr, The Fall, Dr. Dog, Pulp, Roky Erickson, The Vaselines, and more.His most recent official album is “Jeffrey Lewis & The Voltage: Bad Wiring” released on Don Giovanni Records (USA) and Moshi Moshi Records (internationally) in November 2019 (garnering rave reviews), but Jeffrey has also digitally self-released multiple DIY albums from his apartment since the pandemic started. Jeffrey continues to wring folksy spiel and garage bohemianism from his ramshackle guitar, whether with his full band or solo, while sometimes incorporating his often politically subversive visual artwork and cartoons into live appearances. Some of these audio/visual projects have been hosted on History.com, such as “The Story of Sitting Bull,” a Jeffrey Lewis illustrated song which won a Webby Award in 2011 for “Best Writing on the Internet;” Jeffrey’s “The Story of Keith Haring” was commissioned by the Museum of Modern Art in 2021. “Weird? Very… but also downright inspiring” (****) – Rolling Stone“Jeffrey Lewis is an amazing musician, and if you don’t know his songs you probably have a hole in your heart that can only be filled by his words… I did!” – Regina Spektor”Hands down my favorite contemporary songwriter” – Ben Gibbard (Death Cab For Cutie)“Jeffrey is the best pure songwriter I know of… ‘Sad Screaming Old Man’… is one of my favorite songs ever written” – David Berman (Silver Jews)“Ramshackle and beautiful noise… Lou Reed’s natural successor as punk poet of the New York streets” – Louder Than War”Bizarre but brilliant” – Uncut”Dazzling” – Mojo”Jeffrey is the only artist I’ve sent fan mail to.” – Jens Lekman”Really great and impressive and inspiring and exciting… There’s not a lot of people that can tell a story and use language like that in music.” – Will Oldham
AZUL / Maxne Eloi w/ Saint Josie
Azul is a queer Latinx musician that oscillates from tender moments of grief and love to disco dance bops, music numbers on betrayal and the stress of living in our modern world. Oh and sometimes it is in Spanish. She sings and plays trumpet with her best friends and her goal is to always connect with her listeners. After releasing her debut original EP in 2021 “The View From Here,” Azul has played all over NC and opened for several nationally touring acts. The INDY Week said about her debut single, “Magic,” “Magic” feels like a true pop song—lush, catchy, persuasive, and full of the kind of pent-up drama that makes the quest for greater belief and optimism feel fresh. Zapata’s voice is bold and reaching; this is a single with the thrill of a big beginning.” Maxine Eloi is a Multidisciplinary Artist. Channeling their creativity primarily through singing, writing, acting and filmmaking, they transmute their experiences of love, grief and wonder by creating, engaging and spreading light within their community. Influenced by a variety of sounds from punk rock, to classical to soul, Maxine uses their storytelling and poetry to illuminate the chaos and beauty of life. Maxine is honored to be joined by Chelsea Koester on Drums and Michael Devine on guitar. Maxine is grateful for their ancestors who inspire them and the support of their loved ones. Maxine is stoked to perform at The Pinhook again and have the opportunity to share the experience with the awesomely talented Azul Zapata. You can keep up with Maxine on Instagram @maxsunlove.
Califone / Max Knouse
With 25 years of Califone in his catalog (not to mention a variety of other projects, including alt rock heroes Red Red Meat), the Chicago-born, Los Angeles-based knows well how to find that moment of awe and bliss even as things are falling apart. Part poet, part abstract painter, and always surrounded by a variety of hyper-talented collaborators (here including longtime cohorts Ben Massarella, Michael Krassner, Rachel Blumberg, and Brian Deck, as well as the likes of Nora O’Connor and Finom’s Macie Stewart), Rutili has always excelled at luring listeners through elusive lyrics, flashes of shadows and images coming together in disarming unity.
Laney Jones / Ooze Box
“It’s not quite folk, it has hints of pop perhaps, and it rocks like no other.”—NO DEPRESSION “Carole King by way of Big Thief” – MAGNET MAGAZINE :She’s the kind of Americana artist who can work equally well on the indie stage of a bluegrass festival as in an iTunes commercial.” – ROLLING STONE Amazingly, Laney Jones’ music career started as something of an accident. She picked up the guitar and began writing songs during college as a respite from the demanding academic curriculum working on an international business degree. Her aptitude as a singer and songwriter was instant. She soon found herself immersed in the roots scene as a rising young talent. Laney has shared stages with bands in the last year like Wood Brothers, Blitzen Trapper, and Allison Russell. Laney Jones has received accolades from No Depression and L.A. Record, as well as the legendary Alison Krauss. As an unsigned artist, she’s managed to grace the stage at New York’s Lincoln Center and DC’s Kennedy Center for the Arts, feature on PBS’s Great Performances series, earn corporate sponsorships and licensing deals, and receive nationwide college radio spins for her original songs. Currently, her voice can be heard on soundtracks of films and TV from the likes of Disney, Netflix, Dreamworks, Google, Toyota, and Red Bull. Laney’s also won many prestigious songwriting and new artist competitions, most notably the prestigious John Lennon Songwriting Contest.