On stage at Zenbarn Friday: Americana bluegrass bands
PBS to feature Chatham Rabbits in May
March 31, 2022 | By Laura Hardie | Correspondent
Sarah Osborne McCombie and Austin McCombie of Bynum, North Carolina, are Chatham Rabbits. They and The Wildmans bring bluegrass and Americana sounds to Zenbarn Friday at 9 p.m. Chatham Rabbits also will be featured in a PBS-NC documentary starting in May. Photo by Chris Frisina
When husband-and-wife-musician duo Austin McCombie and Sarah Osborne McCombie, of Bynum, North Carolina, picked locations for their 2022 live tour, Vermont called to them like no other place in the Northeast.
“I came to Waterbury on vacation, and I realized North Carolinians and Vermonters have a lot in common,” Sarah said. “There is a sensibility that is very similar that I haven’t found anywhere else in the Northeast.”
Their band Chatham Rabbits will be playing their first-ever Vermont show at Zenbarn this Friday, April 1, at 9 p.m. alongside The Wildmans, an Americana stringband from Floyd, Virginia.
Noah Fishman of Zenbarn says they first hosted The Wildmans last year for a small show due to COVID-19 restrictions, and the band created an intimate and unforgettable experience.
“We knew right away as soon as we could have them back, we would,” Fishman said.
The Wildmans trio has an impressive track record. Ed and Aila Wildman snap up first-place awards at fiddle conventions with regularity, and bandmate Victor Furtado is an award-winning banjo player. And while they return to the intimate Zenbarn stage, Chatham Rabbits makes their debut.
“Chatham Rabbits are new to us, but once we checked them out, we immediately fell in love,” Fishman said. “We're really excited about this co-bill, it should be an amazing night of Americana, folk, and old-time music.”
Chatham Rabbits are known for their lyric-forward music highlighted by the clawhammer old-time banjo Sarah plays and infused with plenty of North Carolina bluegrass style.
“We incorporate a lot of stories and really try to connect with our audience the best we can. We’re an open book and we really try to let the audience in on what the songs are about and what we’ve been up to,” Sarah said. “It's a fun night of uplifting, rich, North Carolina music.”
Embracing their passion for music and life
Austin and Sarah met when they were both seniors in college in Raleigh in 2014. Just a year later, they were married.
“It was a very quick turnaround,” Sarah laughed as she reflected on their marriage. “We just really clicked and always have.”
Three years later, with a similar passion and urgency to share their music, Austin and Sarah left their jobs as a financial planner and a teacher respectively, and Chatham Rabbits was born.
“We were like ships passing in the night. We always wanted to try making music for a living because it was our hobby,” Sarah said. “It’s what we would do when we would come home from work. We’d play music and connect that way. When we took the plunge in 2018, we just went full throttle. We feel so thankful that we’re able to do this.”
The duo blends their own histories and musical styles into the band, creating a third original voice. Sarah first took the stage as part of a trio known as the South Carolina Broadcasters, a band that harkened back to the old days of the Grand Ole Opry and AM radio country classics. Meanwhile, Austin played keyboards and guitar for an electronic band called DASH.
So, what’s with the name? Sarah and Austin’s house in Bynum was once the home of a mill-working family who played music and the husband was a member of the mill-sponsored string band called The Chatham Rabbits. Over a century ago, rabbits were the prized cash crop of Chatham County.
“We aim to pay respect to the original Chatham Rabbits,” Sarah said.
The modern-day Chatham Rabbits released their first album “All I Want From You” in 2019. Their third album, “If You See Me Riding By” is slated for release on June 3.
PBS documentary to debut on May 7
The band will also be the focus of a new PBS documentary-style TV show “On the Road with Chatham Rabbits” airing on PBS-NC in May. PBS producers were intrigued with Sarah and Austin’s story after doing a short eight-minute segment on them in 2018 in North Carolina and covering their show at the North Carolina Museum of Art in 2021.
“After that show they said we would love to pitch for you to be the subject of this reality show and we jumped at the chance. It was such a dream come true,” Sarah said.
The first episode will air on May 7 on TV in North Carolina and on the PBS Video app online. Each episode will be available on Saturdays during the month of May. Sarah hopes if the initial release of episodes is successful, the show will be available on more PBS stations around the country.
“I really just hope if people find our music it can be the backdrop to working from home or listening in the car with their kids, or on a solo drive,” Sarah said. “I love the aspect or thought of being the soundtrack for people’s everyday lives.”
Find Chatham Rabbits and The Wildmans music wherever you stream your music; tour and other information online at chathamrabbits.com and thewildmans.net. Zenbarn tickets: $12 advance online; $15 April 1 online or at the door.