Swamp Rabbit Railroad, an American folk music duo, will spread "honest and innovative" music to Carrboro this Friday, live at Open Eye Cafe.
The South Carolinian group is made up of husband and wife duo, Lauren and Tyler Cason, who said that their main goal is to infuse truth into their music while also bringing awareness to modern day issues.
“It’s a lot about trying to make music that we feel has a lot of substance,” Lauren said. “There are a lot of songs in the world that don’t say a whole lot, you know, that has its place but, my husband, who writes our songs, he tries to put elements of reality that just, maybe speak about issues that don't get spoken about or give a voice to people who maybe need to express themselves.”
The Swamp Rabbit Trip formed in 2010, but the name Swamp Rabbit Railroad was coined in 2015. According to their website, Swamp Rabbit Railroad’s music is American folk revival music. They are influenced by artists such as Woody Guthrie, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon.
“My husband, he’s always kind of had an old soul," Lauren said. "So he’s always had a strong interest in it. When he was getting his masters degree, he wrote his thesis on American folk music, its history and where it is now."
Lauren and Tyler met while studying music and both have master’s degrees in music. The Casons said they bring a fresh twist to traditional American folk by creating complex harmonies, both vocally and instrumentally. The Casons said American folk music is honest and edgy.
“The word we often associate with folk is authenticity — of musicianship, of lyricism, of performance,” Tyler said. “It’s music that has elements of truth in its lyricism.”
Lauren said that in a world with many polarizing issues, the pair want their music to encourage people to listen to other points of view.
“Like the traditions of folk music, telling stories about people that may be different from those in our audience, just to make people think and expose people to different thoughts and ideas.”
