A new live folk music series has come to the Triangle area — "Landmarks", organized by UNC PhD student Brennan Jones and Duke PhD student Spencer George.
The project, launched in October, is partially funded by the Maynard Adams Fellowship from Carolina Public Humanities, which Jones received this semester. In creating Landmarks, Jones and George wanted to build on local appreciation for folk and traditional music by connecting local musicians and students in the Triangle area.
Their collaboration started after Jones approached George, the host of the Good Folk podcast, with the idea to create a space for people who care about Southern folk music. Jones said that Carolina Public Humanities helped to promote their project and connected the pair with other organizations, including radio station WXYC and media art workspace Fatwood Studio. These collaborations allowed for Jones' and George's dream to become a reality.
“I was starting to realize that there were a lot of communities structured around, especially folk and traditional music, but generally around music appreciation in this area,” Jones said. “A lot of really cool local musicians, a lot of undergrads who are invested in the radio and really starting to develop a critical sensibility and find ways to engage with it.”
George studied folklore at UNC, and she is particularly interested in folklore as well as interacting with artists with a Southern background, something the project focuses on.
“Both of us [George and Jones] come from the South, and we're interested in thinking about more complex ways to tell stories with the South,” George said.
Jones and George held their first show earlier this fall just outside of Carrboro. The show included a banjo set from local musician Nathan Bowles, followed by an audience interview with George afterward. Taking place around sunset, George expressed that the pair enjoyed the relaxing and mesmerizing atmosphere of the show alongside fellow scholars and community members. Additionally, the series is donation-based and raised about $500 for flood relief in Appalachia.
Christopher Allen is the owner of Fatwood Studio and hosted Landmark’s debut event in Fatwood’s event space, and even offered them long-term residency for monthly events in the future. He said that he was excited to work with Jones and George because of their proposal for the series, additionally helping with concepts, planning and promotion for the event. Allen especially enjoyed the ambience and captivating performance by Bowles during the first show.
“The sun was setting, and there were crickets and frogs sort of harmonizing with Nathan's performance, providing a pretty awesome atmosphere to listen to some great music,” Allen said.
