Watchhouse: Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater
Recorded January 23, 2020 In Support of Tides of a Teardrop
Out Today From Yep Roc Records
Watchhouse: Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater is out today on Yep Roc Records. Originally released as a Bandcamp exclusive in 2020, the album is now widely available on CD, digital, and limited edition LP; purchase/listen here.
On January 23, 2020, North Carolina-based Watchhouse —Emily Frantz (fiddle/vocals) and Andrew Marlin (mandolin/vocals)— known at the time as Mandolin Orange, took the stage at one of Austin’s most prominent venues, Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater, in support of their sixth album, Tides of a Teardrop.
After years of building a loyal fan base playing local clubs and festivals, Marlin noted during the near-capacity show, “I think Austin might be one of my favorite towns to play in, y’all.” Supported by Clint Mullican (bass), Josh Oliver (guitar) and Joe Westerlund (drums), the 15-song set features the full, rich, and personal songs and “a commanding sense of how to present a 90-minute acoustic show” (Austin American Statesman).
Songs from the show span the group’s catalog; from earlier tunes – the bittersweet “There Was A Time” and the haunting “Jump Mountain Blues” – to the timely, politically charged “Wildfire” and “Gospel Shoes.” “[Watchhouse’s] music radiates a mysterious warmth—their songs feel like whispered secrets, one hand cupped to your ear” (Do512). The opening act, fellow North Carolinian Kate Rhudy, joins the duo on second fiddle for the instrumental “Hawk Is a Mule” and on harmony for “Into the Sun.” A complete tracklist is below.
Recorded at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater in Austin, TX, the album was engineered by the band’s longtime FOH technician Mark Alspaugh, mixed by Sean Sullivan, and mastered by Alan Silverman at Aerial Sound, with artwork by Austin’s own Ishaq Fahim.
Formed in Chapel Hill, NC, in 2009, Watchhouse has released eight albums of original American roots music. Signing with Yep Roc Records in 2013, they released four critically acclaimed albums with the label—This Side of Jordan, Such Jubliee, Blindfaller, and Tides of a Teardrop. In the last several years, they have toured the United States and Europe, headlining venues including Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium while performing at festivals including Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Pickathon, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, and Merlefest, among others.
Watchhouse: Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater
1) Golden Embers
2) The Wolves
3) When She’s Feeling Blue
4) There Was A Time
5) Jump Mountain Blues
6) My Blinded Heart
7) Time We Made Time
8) Cavalry
9) Echo
10) Gospel Shoes
11) Hawk Is A Mule (intro)
12) Hawk Is A Mule
13) Into the Sun intro
14) Into the Sun
15) Wildfire
16) Hey Stranger
17) Waltz About Whiskey
Tags: color variant, Digital, Digital Album, Live album, Mandolin Orange, New Release, Vinyl, Watchhouse