Rising Appalachia

Rising Appalachia plays National Sawdust in New York, NY, as part of a North American tour. This folk concert suits anyone drawn to harmony-rich Southern roots music, Appalachian string-band songs, and music that carries a story and a sense of place. The evening is led by the sister duo Rising Appalachia, Leah Song and Chloe Smith.

What to Expect

Rising Appalachia makes music where Southern folk traditions, New Orleans swamp culture, and Atlanta's street spirit meet. The band is known for seamless harmonies, songcatching, and storytelling, and these live shows carry all three.

The tour comes alongside their forthcoming album, Trade My Troubles, which the band describes as a soft light from a quieter, more introspective place. Its songs celebrate rest, renewal after burnout, and replenishment in the wilds and in tradition. The 16-song record opens and closes with a traditional Irish traveller song and an Appalachian fiddle tune, both nods to the band's ancestral lineages. Between them are songs about motherhood, moonlight, heartbreak, and birdsong. The album features guests Aoife O'Donovan, Ayla Nereo, Bonnie Paine, and Brittany Haas.

About Rising Appalachia

Rising Appalachia is a folk duo founded by sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith in the early 2000s. Raised in Atlanta and steeped in the musical traditions of the American South, they blend Southern soul, Appalachian string-band traditions, and international roots music. Their sound draws on fiddle, banjo, guitar, upright bass, and layered vocal harmonies, with roots in gospel, work songs, and mountain ballads.

What sets them apart from the mainstream Americana revival is the way they bring social justice themes, traditional medicine practices, and partnerships with Indigenous and immigrant communities into their work. Their music is politically engaged and rooted in environmental activism and cultural preservation, and they place themselves within the Slow Music Movement.

The band has released ten albums and toured North America, South America, Europe, the Celtic Isles, and Australia. Their stages have ranged from the Telluride Bluegrass Festival and Red Rocks to NPR's Tiny Desk. They have built a devoted grassroots following by traveling to communities big and small by train, horseback, bio-diesel bus, and sailboat.

The Place

The concert takes place at National Sawdust in New York, NY, in the United States.