Local band Look Homeward celebrates NC

Influenced by a strong sense of place, local band Look Homeward celebrates North Carolina through its blend of folk and bluegrass music.

Members of the group — Lee Anderson, Alex Bingham, Wilson Greene IV and Evan Ringel — are kick-starting their music career with their first headliner performance at Local 506 Saturday.

Brothers Lee and Will Anderson founded Look Homeward in 2011.

A 2012 UNC-Chapel Hill graduate, Lee Anderson said he began his musical career during his time at Appalachian State University before he transferred to UNC-CH. Living in a secluded cabin on the outskirts of Boone, he began to write music and play the guitar more frequently.

“When I came to Carolina, I didn’t really know what was going to happen,” Lee Anderson said.

Following his friend’s advice to perform in the Pit, he decided to pursue his interest in songwriting and singing publicly, gaining confidence and praise from fellow students.

It wasn’t until 2012 that Look Homeward caught a big break due to a surprise from Will Anderson, who gave his brother the ultimate Christmas gift — the opportunity to record their music.

In just a few days, the brothers had recorded their five-song EP, titled “The Hunger and the Ghost”, in a low-budget recording session.

The brothers looked to UNC-Greensboro’s music program for a bass player, and after a series of auditions, found Virginia native and UNC-G senior Alex Bingham to be the perfect fit.

Later, UNC-CH senior Wilson Greene IV joined the group on the banjo. He said he still balances school with the band.

“UNC and this community has definitely pointed me toward traditional music,” he said. “I started playing banjo sophomore year because I was surrounded by people who love old string band music.”

Transitioning his interests from the stage to the classroom, Greene said his views of music are highly influenced by professor William Ferris’ course on Southern music.

“Southern culture is the driving force behind the music, the literature and the experience of every generation of Southern people,” Ferris said. “Even if you move here from another part of the country to study at UNC, you’re shaped indelibly by the place we call Chapel Hill — and there is a long and very important tradition of music associated with this community.”

Look Homeward is now working on a Kickstarter campaign to raise money to rent a recording studio for its first full-length album, inspired by North Carolina’s coast and mountains. The group hopes to record in March and debut the album in May.

“I like the idea of geography music and the sense of place,” Greene said. “We’re all from different places so it’s all bringing these little influences together.”

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