The Carrborators

Biography

The Carrborators are an acoustic quartet that delivers a rich blend of folk, rock, and jazz influences in true Americana style. They are based in the sister cities of Carrboro and Chapel Hill, deep in the heart of the North Carolina Piedmont. Their music features layered vocal harmonies intertwined with a mix of flatpicking and finger-styled guitars, mandolin, dobro, harmonica, and bass. They perform original tunes that span the spectrum from love to war to caffeine. Their influences are as diverse as Gram Parsons, Donald Fagen, Gillian Welch, John Lennon, Tim and Mollie O’Brien, and John and Michelle Phillips.

The eclectic mix of songs that comprises Caffeinated Heart is rooted in the contemporary singer-songwriter tradition, but fortified with a healthy dose of rock-and-roll and tempered with a sweet dusting of bluegrass. In this, their debut album, the Carrborators ponder the challenges of the twenty-first century, with thoughtful lyrics that are intensified by the carefully-crafted harmonic structure of the music. The result is pure acoustic Americana, served with a shot of caffeine (the original fuel additive).

Caffeinated Heart also includes guest appearances by fiddler Bobby Britt (Town Mountain, Big Fat Gap), banjoist Chandler Holt (Chatham County Line), guitarist Will McFarlane (Bonnie Raitt, The Muscle Shoals Rhythm Section), drummer Mitch Easter (Sneakers, Let’s Active), and percussionist Colin Cannell (Skylark, the Donnybrook Lads).  The album was recorded in Chapel Hill by Chris Stamey (the dBs, the Chris Stamey Band).