Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
The Beat Goes On
Meet the bands at this year’s Roots Festival
For nearly two decades, the Sunday night headliners for this year’s Roots Festival have been traveling the world, picking up influences to blend with their own Southern sensibilities. Rising Appalachia released their seventh album, “Leylines” — and first with a producer, the legendary Joe Henry — in May and now make a visit to Fayetteville amid their relentless touring schedule.
Atlanta native Chloe Smith (guitar, fiddle, banjo) founded the six-piece band with her sister Leah and answered these questions for
What’s Up! ahead of the group’s Roots performance.
Q. Within roots music, how would you describe the music you play? And what defines it as roots music to you?
A. Contextually, I’ve always felt that roots music is embedded in a sense of place, of family, of folk, and of purpose larger than oneself. Aurally, it’s something with a simplicity and a rough edge that is unpolished and free. We have always had a hard time categorizing our music, but roots and folk have been the two that we come back to with a sense of familiarity. Our music sprouted from the sounds of our parents’ community in Georgia — of old time music, Cajun/zydeco, contra dance and gospel. From there we embedded our own experience of hip hop and street music that we were highly seeped in growing up in downtown Atlanta. Once we began playing professionally and traveling the world with our instruments, we studied and picked up sounds from many of the places that made an impression on us. As our band has grown, we have stayed true to wanting to maintain a roots sound by playing all acoustic instruments and not affecting our voices on stage or in the studio. It’s all natural and as is.
Q. Is this your first Roots Fest experience? What makes festivals fun for you as a performer?
A. Yes, this is our first time at Roots Fest. Festivals are always some of the most enjoyable for us because we get to see some of our contemporaries in other touring bands perform, and we all rub elbows and share road stories and tips for staying sane and healthy and uplifted. There’s a camaraderie to the back stages of festivals when the musicians are shaking hands and sitting in on each others’ sets and generally discovering one another’s talents and trades. We look forward to that every time.
Q. Would you call the current state of roots music a revival? And why do you think it’s so incredibly popular right now?
A. I definitely think that roots music is having a sort of comeback due to the sheer honesty of it. There was a while when most folks were looking to have as big of a sound as they could possibly have, putting a sheen and sparkle over the rawness and magic of music. Now, I believe audiences are craving authenticity and a simpler sound… one where you can really FEEL the person singing or playing, catch a bit of their spirit, so to say. With all the distractions of this world, there’s something hopeful in folk music. There’s an overlap of the human experience, the commonality of all of us trying to make our way through good and bad times.
Q. What’s your latest album or do you have one coming soon?
A. “Leylines.” It premiered this May, and we are very excited to share it with you all.
Q. Where is your next stop after Roots Fest? Will we see you back in Northwest Arkansas soon?
A. We don’t have a date in Arkansas coming up after Roots Fest, however we have two large album release tours this fall. One will be up the East Coast, and the other will be up the West Coast. It will be the largest tour we have ever done, with a full crew and
six band members, showcasing this new work and letting it go full sail. But There’s More!
The sister-led six-piece will close out Sunday’s main stage. As of publication, less than 100 Sunday main stage passes remain, and all multi-day music passes are sold out. If you’re not able to make it to the big stage, though, happy hour and late night stages provide more opportunities for the community to get in on the music. Here, four bands performing on the George’s Majestic Lounge Roots stage offer a taste of what’s to come.