Wilmington connections bring folk duo back to unique venue for 'winter homecoming' tour
North Carolina folk/bluegrass/Americana duo The Chatham Rabbits — singer and banjo player Sarah McCombie and her husband, singer/guitarist Austin McCombie — have been a regular presence in Wilmington since they formed in the late 2010s.
They've played stages big (Greenfield Lake Amphitheater, as an opening act for Chatham County Line) and small (downtown's Bourgie Nights, which they've sold out multiple times, most recently in 2022). During the pandemic, they even played neighborhoods around town on the back of a trailer as part of their Stay at Home tour.
Now the duo, which is based near the Greensboro Triad, is heading back to the Port City for a two-night stand at St. Thomas Preservation hall downtown Feb. 16 and 17, part of their "winter homecoming" tour.
The band's strong connection to Wilmington comes via Austin McCombie, who was born and raised here, but they've built up a strong following through regular tours, and also thanks to being the focus of a docuseries, "On the Road with the Chatham Rabbits," which aired in 2022 on North Carolina PBS stations.
Initially the couple drew notice for its tight harmonies and songs that sound like they could've been written a century ago. "If You See Me Riding By," their third full-length album, dropped in 2022 and expanded their sound a bit, though the focus stayed on Sarah's rootsy vocals and clawhammer-style banjo, her gorgeous harmonies with Austin, and songs with stories ripped from the turn of the (20th) century.
During a recent phone interview with Austin McCombie, we talked about the band's songs, their evolving sound and their connection to Wilmington. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.
StarNews: So, you guys are heading out on your first big tour of the year.
Austin McCombie: Yeah, our first tour of the year. Last year Sarah and I focused our energy for the first time on so many new markets. In fact, our fans were asking us regularly, "Hey, what are you gonna play around here again?" And we were just kind of spreading our wings last year. And so this is our first North Carolina tour in a while. We kind of make it a once-a-year type of thing.
I love that you're playing St. Thomas Preservation Hall, which is mostly used for weddings now and not concerts. How did that come about?
In general, Wilmington is lacking a dedicated medium-sized venue. There's a huge opportunity there for somebody, but we had to get creative. Also, just the general excitement of St. Thomas to do something like this, St. Thomas was stoked. We're doing some really neat stuff for the show, like people have the option to purchase an open bar ticket, like it's a wedding, and St. Thomas has the resources to handle that. It's such a beautiful space. I've attended many weddings there. We do things our own way, and I think it's really cool that we're partnering with a space that also does things their own way. Out of the box for them and it's out of the box for us.
I know you've been recording, have you been playing any of your new songs out yet?
We've really just been playing like two or three of the songs, but this show will be debuting a lot of new material. Most of the new record we will probably play in the show. So it'll be a great opportunity for people to hear what we've been working on.
Do you have songs that people request way more than others?
I would say "Abigail," Sarah's horse song. "You Never Told Me I Was Pretty," that's another one that people really love. I would say a generalization is people like some of our more emotional songs. I would say this record coming out is definitely a shift for us. I feel like it's going to translate into a more authentic, just deeper (experience), and I'm excited to see how that impacts our fan base.
You guys have already made a transition from being a stripped-down old-time duo into a new sound with the full band. Was it a difficult transition?
I would say it was pretty natural. We were the two of us. When we started to bring in more musicians it was more of an enhancement around that. Our last big tour that we did, we had upright bass and mandolin. Then we just added drums and electric guitars, electric bass and pedal steel and dobro. So it's a much more, I don't know, it's a band that feels like us right now.
One thing that really stands out about your band to me is that you and Sarah just harmonize so beautifully. Was that a natural thing or did you guys really have to work on it?
Luckily, I would say it did turn out fairly naturally. And it's interesting because Sarah, she's the lead singer, I've heard her sing on other records and other people's projects and it's it's obviously always really good. But it has made us realize how unique our two voices are together and how well they do harmonize.
You've always been known as an independent band, will that continue?
Labels have changed and their roles have changed so much recently that it's kind of hard to know exactly what we should do. I think we're open to all possibilities, including continuing to self release. We've always said that we want to be a hot air balloon and not a rocket ship. We were on Ramseur Records for a while with Sierra Ferrell, and she's a classic example of a rocket ship. I mean, she's been doing it a handful years, she's exploding and that's amazing. Our model has always been, if we can just grow by like 15% a year, then we're gonna establish a very sustainable, very comfortable career.
Anything you want to say to Wilmington before we see you?
I was born and raised in Wilmington, and just have such a beautiful relationship with Wilmington, and I always look forward to coming down. I think it's kind of a common misconception that Wilmington is not really a music town. I would say that our fans have proven otherwise.
Want to go?
Who: The Chatham Rabbits, "Winter Homecoming Tour"
When: 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show, Feb. 16 (with Carlos Rising) and Feb. 17 (with the Smoky Dunes)
Where: St. Thomas Preservation Hall, 208 Dock St., Wilmington
Info: Tickets are $25-$35.
This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Folk duo Chatham Rabbits set to play Wilmington, NC Feb. 16-17
