Chatham County Line Hiyo Out Today
East Coast Tour Kicks Off February 16
Hometown Record Release Show at The Rialto Sold-Out
Two Schoolkids Records In-stores Planned for This Weekend
Raleigh Saturday, Jan 27 @ 2pm & Chapel Hill Sunday,
Jan 28 @ 2pm
Watch/Share: B S R Lyric Video
Hiyo, the highly anticipated tenth album from Raleigh, NC-based Chatham County Line is out today on Yep Roc Records; listen/purchase here.
Recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain, the album was co-produced by Dave Wilson and Nashville-based Rachael Moore (Kacey Musgraves, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss), whom the band befriended during a stint serving as the backing band on the Showtime series George & Tammy, shot in Wilmington, NC. “I could tell the guys were ready to go somewhere new, and I wanted to see how far we could stretch the boundaries,” offers Moore. “We agreed we’d still do things thoughtfully and be true to who they were, but this felt like a chance to explore some springs that they maybe hadn’t gotten to tap into before.”
Listen: WUNC Morning Edition interview
Critical acclaim for Hiyo:
“…all of Hiyo are the best kind of musical caper. Your ears and your heart go on a wide-ranging adventure, but all the while you feel right at home” –No Depression
“This is all a stunning, but not altogether unexpected, evolution for the band…” –INDY Week
“Dark and Brooding Alt.Country With a Solid Americana Spine.” –The Rocking Magpie
“The songs here are a mix of introspection, bluegrass and Americana instruments, and a sweeping expansive sound.” –Americana Highways
“The result is somewhat daring change to Chatham County LIne’s traditional sound and one that injects it with a more progressive posture.” –The Alternate Root
“On Hiyo, they allowed themselves to go further, to push themselves past what is expected of them, and they’re all the better for it.” –For Folk’s Sake
In support of the album, the band will celebrate this weekend with two Schoolkids Records in-stores in Raleigh (Jan 27 @ 2pm) and Chapel Hill (Jan 28 @ 2p), along with a sold-out hometown record release show on February 17 at the newly reopened Rialto Theater. Their East Coast tour run includes stops in Kansas City (Folk Alliance International), Atlanta, Charleston, Richmond, Charlottesville, among others, along with their fourth appearance at Merlefest, one of America’s premier roots festivals in Wilkesboro, NC. A complete list of dates is below; tickets are now on sale.
The album’s rousing opener and first single, “Right On Time,” is a rollicking, harmony-driven ode to young love and the open road, balancing nostalgia with the contemporary setting the stage for the band’s first album in four years. “Magic,” the second single unveiled, is an enchantingly optimistic tune lined with a slightly psychedelic twang and a heavenly vocal performance that blends Everlys and Wilburys. Fusing past and present in a reimagining of the old school murder ballad, the eerily cinematic third single, “Way Down Yonder,” traces the tale of a young couple, a taunting phrase, and ultimately revenge.
“The best music is made with complete total freedom,” says singer/guitarist Dave Wilson. “We spent a lot of years pushing at the fences, but with this album, we’ve finally busted out of the corral.” Fueled by new sounds, collaborators, and experimenting with fresh sonic palettes and innovative approaches to instrumentations, Hiyo marks an evolution for the band, who spent 15 years performing around a single microphone and chose to add a drummer to their touring lineup after the 2020 departure of their banjo player.
The resulting album takes Chatham County Line’s enduring sound and injects it with an adventurous spirit of discovery and vitality, incorporating synthesizers, drum machines, and more electric guitar and percussion than ever before, rounded out by Dave Wilson’s classic songwriting – rich, evocative tales of love and heartbreak, joy and sorrow, revenge and righteousness. “There’s this liberating element to getting rid of all the preconceptions about who we are and what we sound like, and I think it shows in these songs,” says Dave Wilson.
A roots music staple for over two decades, Chatham County Line – Dave Wilson (vocal, guitars, harmonica, synthesizer, banjo); John Teer (mandolin, fiddle, guitars, vocal); and Greg Readling (bass, pedal steel, piano, clavinet, organ, vocal) – built a devoted following on the strength of their genre-bending live show before breaking out internationally in 2003 with their self-titled debut. Since then, the band’s critically acclaimed albums have topped Billboard Bluegrass charts four times, they’ve shared the bill with the likes of Lyle Lovett and Guy Clark to The Avett Brothers and Steve Martin & Martin Short, and have collaborated with Judy Collins, Sharon Van Etten, and Jonas Fjeld.
Chatham County Line Tour Dates
January 27 – Schoolkids Records In-Store – Raleigh, NC
January 28 – Schoolkids Records In-store – Chapel Hill, NC
February 16 – Neighborhood Theatre – Charlotte, NC
February 17 – Rialto Theatre – Raleigh, NC – SOLD OUT
February 23 – Folk Alliance – Kansas City, MO
March 1 – The Earl – Atlanta, GA
March 2 – The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
March 7 – The Ramkat – Winston-Salem, NC
March 8 – Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC
March 9 – Bourgie Nights – Wilmington, NC
April 4 – Jammin’ Java – Vienna, VA
April 5 – Richmond Music Hall – Richmond, VA
April 6 – Hub City Vinyl – Hagerstown, MD
April 9 – Caffe Lena – Saratoga Springs, NY
April 11 – Mauch Chunk Opera House – Jim Thorpe, PA
April 12 – Stoltz Listening Room – Easton, MD
April 13 – The Southern Cafe and Music Hall – Charlottesville,
VA
April 26 – MerleFest – Wilkesboro, NC
May 3 – BirdFest 2024 – Pinewood, SC
May 11 – Points of Sanctuary – Roanoke, VA
September 19-22 – Bourbon & Beyond – Louisville, KY
Hiyo Tracklisting:
- Right On Time
- Magic
- Way Down Yonder
- Heaven
- Lone Ranger
- B S R
- Under The Willow Tree
- She’s Got You
- Stone
- Summerline
Tags: americana, Chatham County Line, Digital Album, Hiyo, New Album, new music, on tour, Tracklisting, Vinyl, vinyl record