A staple of the North Carolina music scene for two decades, Raleigh, NC’s Chatham County Line introduce a new sound and line up with the release of their ninth studio album, Strange Fascination, out May 15 on Yep Roc Records! Strange Fascination is now available for pre-order.
“Station to Station,” the lead single, which adds to the band’s repertoire of train songs, debuts today; listen to the song here:
Twenty years into the band’s career, Strange Fascination marks a turning point in their steady growth and evolution, serving as both the final release with co-founding banjo player Chandler Holt, the first line-up change since 2001, and the first to feature drums on every song. The core of CCL—Dave Wilson (guitar/vocals/songwriter), John Teer (mandolin/fiddle/vocals), and Greg Readling (bass/pedal steel/piano)—now welcome percussion to its line-up with long time friend of the band, Dan Hall on drums.
“We’ve always seen ourselves as an Americana band that breathed through instruments that are conventionally considered to be bluegrass, so we’re replacing the banjo with drums and hoping we can up the ante a little.”
Dave Wilson, Chatham County Line
The First Edition CD and LP of Strange Fascination includes a limited edition poster insert!
Produced by Dave Wilson and the band, Strange Fascination was recorded at Mitch Easter’s Fidelitorium Recordings in Kernersville, NC. The band was joined in-studio by Yan Westerlund (Mipso, Phil Cook) on drums, and the album was mixed and engineered by Chris Boerner (Hiss Golden Messenger, The Foreign Exchange).
From the dreamy “Oh Me Oh My” to the chugging rhythm bolstered by lively piano and harmonica of “Free Again,” a song that looks at the American Dream to “Queen Anne’s Gold,” a folk tale about the North Carolina coast which recounts the legend of Blackbeard and his shipwreck, Dave Wilson’s songwriting is “very true and honest,” says Greg Reading.
Further representing a new era for the band, Sharon Van Etten’s guest vocals on the title track mark the first guest vocals since the band’s debut. The title track also inspired the group to move away from their signature single microphone set up in live shows.
CHATHAM COUNTY LINE TOUR DATES
March 20 – Suwannee Spring Reunion – Live Oak, FL
March 21 – The Attic – Tampa, FL
March 22 – Daniels Pavilion – Naples, FL
April 3 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC^
April 4 – Azalea Festival – Wilmington, NC*
April 18 – Mills River Cidery-Food Truck Fest – Mills River, NC
April 19 – Eddie’s Attic – Decatur, GA
April 30 – De Casino – Sint Niklass, Belgium
May 1 – Roots and Roses Festival – Lessines, Belgium
May 16 – International Buhl Bluegrass Festival – Buhl, Germany
June 26 – Lee Street Theatre – Salisbury, NC
June 27 – Yadkin Cultural Arts Center – Yadkinville, NC
^with The Barefoot Movement
*with The Avett Brothers