Meet Rising Appalachia
Featuring fiddle, harmony, AND storytelling.
I almost forgot to write tonight’s newsletter. I came home to Columbia, South Carolina for Solstice/Christmas and spent the last two days in Asheville, North Carolina, so my days are slightly discombobulated.
The Asheville jaunt was predicated on seeing the folk band Rising Appalachia. I first discovered the band en route to, funnily enough, Asheville, for a college break trip in 2013. I liked the lilting, cutting lyrics highlighting the stark dualities of the American south in “Filthy, Dirty South,” and their sultry, drum-driven take on the old spiritual “I’ll Fly Away.”
The band is led by sisters Leah and Chloe, who were born to artist parents—sculptor/painter dad, fiddle player mom—and raised in Atlanta, Georgia. They’re independent from the mainstream music industry, raising money for recording and touring themselves. I appreciate that they invite local nonprofits to set up a table at each of their shows, that they talk about the mission on stage, and that their merch proceeds benefit the chosen organization.
Both sisters are involved in climate and indigenous peoples’ advocacy, too. These themes are apparent in their lyrics, right alongside spirituality, family, and magic.
2019’s album Laylines has my top two favorite tracks, “Make Magic” and “Harmonize.” Hearing these songs emanating live from a greenery-bedecked outdoor stage beside a river, warmed by fire pits strewn throughout the most laidback, jovial audience I’ve been a part of, was a truly transcendent experience.
Light, joyful “Keep Going” is my favorite track from their latest album, The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know.
I hope these songs keep you warm company during the darkest days of the year. On Tuesday we’ll tip back into longer and longer days; the light is coming.
Until next week,
Elizabeth