Wilmington indie folk duo with big Spotify following releasing new music this year

Brent Holloman and Ben Mabry of Wilmington indie folk duo Beta Radio look too young to have been playing music together for more than a quarter-century.

The two friends met at a Christian summer camp — they joke about still not being sure if it was in North or South Carolina — when they were teenagers in the late '90s, which was also the first time they played music together. They've been playing and writing together ever since.

"We just never stopped," Holloman said over coffee at Folks Cafe on Princess Street recently. "That's what I love to do. That's my favorite thing to do, is write and record music."

With more than 750,000 monthly listeners on the Spotify music streaming service, a number that swelled to more than 900k last month, it would seem that one of the favorite things for a lot of people to do is listen to Beta Radio. Hollomon and Mabry have a knack for strong harmonies and gorgeous, rootsy melodies that's landed their music on multiple playlists.

Last month, Beta Radio released their first new music since 2021 in the form of new a single. "This One's Gonna Hurt" features a hooky chorus dripping with rootsy harmonies and spiritual, slightly melancholy lyrics.

It's the first of five or six singles from a new album titled "Waiting for the End to Come," which comes out later this year. (A second single, "Floating Through," drops Feb. 16.) Beta Radio is managed by a small label, Nettwerk Music Group, that also distributes their music.

The duo has built a strong online following despite rarely performing live. Their last public concert in Wilmington was back in 2015 at Bourgie Nights, and most of their performances are private house shows.

Holloman and Mabry have long had a studio downtown where they write, practice and sometimes record. They've released a half-dozen studio albums since 2010 debut "Seven Sisters," including five volumes of traditional and orginal Christmas songs called "The Songs the Season Brings."

The duo's new songs have a fuller sound than the group's past work, most of which was acoustically based. Hollomon's wife, Amanda, sings on the upcoming album, with The National drummer Bryan Devendorf playing on one track.

In the past, Holloman and Mabry wrote together almost exclusively. But for "Hurt" they opened up the process to work with Henry John Joseph Brill, who's also producing their upcoming record. Brill is a co-writer on "This One's Going to Hurt."

They recorded the album over two weeks in Nashville a year ago, which helped drive a sense of urgency but also a freshness, Mabry said.

"We always record a record over a long, long, long time," Mabry said. "And this time, we did it really quickly. And it felt really good."

"I think for this whole record, we were leaning more into letting the songs be catchy," he added, something that shows up on the new single. "Just leaning into things we like and not worrying about, you know, 'Is this is this too catchy of a thing? Is it too poppy?' We just put that aside and we're just trying to write things that we liked and let just let them be catchy."

Working with a new producer and musicians "felt really good," Mabry said. "I like familiar things, but I also like new things."

At the same time, it also helped strengthen the unique bond they have as musical partners.

"The more I work with other people," Holloman said, "the more I realize how special what me and Ben have had for over 20 years."

This article originally appeared on Wilmington StarNews: Wilmington indie folk duo Beta Radio builds big following on Spotify