A. Lee Edwards w/ Billie Feather & The Hallway Waltz
A. Lee Edwards has spent over 30 years crafting songs that blend rich storytelling with the sounds of classic country, folk, and rock. A longtime fixture in the Americana world, he first gained recognition with Lou Ford and The Loudermilks before stepping into his solo career. His debut album, Interpreting Heart Sounds Vol. I, recorded at Asheville’s Echo Mountain and mixed by legendary producer John Wood (Nick Drake, Fairport Convention), has drawn praise from Glide Magazine, Americana Highways, and The Bluegrass Situation. With a voice that carries both warmth and grit, Edwards delivers songs that feel timeless—honest, heartfelt, and deeply human. “In a fair world, Interpreting Heart Sounds will help get A. Lee Edwards not only listened to, but recognized and respected. In a just world, they’d see him revered.” – Glide Magazine “An authentic Americana sound that brings to mind the Flying Burrito Brothers or the Dillards, had each been fronted by Townes Van Zandt.” – Goldmine Magazine Billie Feather and the Hallway Waltz is the musical home of guitarist, songwriter, and storyteller Billie Feather, a genre-blurring artist whose songs sway between Appalachian ballads, dreamy waltzes, and sharp-witted indie folk. Rooted in the traditions of American music and shaped by years of classical and jazz training, Billie’s songwriting carries the weight of old souls and the sparkle of modern insight. Joined by a rotating cast of trusted collaborators known collectively as The Hallway Waltz, Billie weaves together intimate performances that feel like paging through an old love letter — personal, textured, and full of unexpected turns. Their music is as much about quiet confessions as it is about musical curiosity — embracing folk, alt-country, and chamber-pop textures with equal parts tenderness and experimentation. Her songwriting can be heard through recordings with North Carolina based bands Hank, Pattie and The Current; The P-90’s; Professor Twang and the Honky Tonk Review; and John Howie Jr. and The Rosewood Bluff. Whether performing solo or with her band, Billie invites listeners into a world of honesty, grace, and a little bit of magic.
OFFICIAL NCFF AFTER PARTY: THE AIN’T SISTERS
Fun, eclectic folk rock. Fronted by the deliciously androgynous duo Arrie Bozeman and Barb Carbon, the Aints deliver high-energy performances of their wildly diverse original music. Joined by the hardest working men in rock n Roll, Richie Jones on the Boom Chick thwackita whackita, and Justin Boudreau, aka BooDreamy, masterfully holding down the rhythm section and making everybody swoon with their gorgeous licks. Think Indigo Girls meets Dream Theater but with a little Birdcloud in the mix. If ya ain’t sisters, what are ya?
The Wilson Springs Hotel w/ Megan Jean’s Secret Family
The Wilson Springs Hotel are rooted in folk music and hail from all parts of Virginia; bringing country, folk, bluegrass, and rock together. Based in Richmond, VA TWSH brings high energy music and cohesion to their live show. Megan Jean’s Secret Family is a fresh blend of the 70’s by way of the 90’s rock, soul, country, and jam, emphasizing vocal-driven danceable original songs that bring together generations of sound. In May of 2024, the band made their national radio debut on NPR’s Mountain Stage alongside notable acts like Keller Williams and Bettye Lavette. DC Music Review called them one of their “New favorite acts” following an energitc performance at 2024’s DelFest.
RR Williams, Ryan Lockhart and Nathan James Hall
John Howie Jr. And The Rosewood Bluff w/ Ramona & The Holy Smokes
Renée Gros w/ Drew Foust
Gabe Lee w/ Graham Stone
Equal parts classic songwriter and modern-day storyteller, Gabe Lee has built his own bridge between country, folk and rock. Lee has been collecting stories for years, both onstage and off. “I used to bartend,” says the Nashville-based songwriter, “which means I was also a cheap therapist for whomever happened to be sitting on the barstool. Whether they were there to celebrate or drink away their problems, I heard about whatever they were going through. It was my job to have that face-to-face interaction —that connection. Being a full-time musician isn’t much different.”With critically-acclaimed albums like 2019’s farmland, 2020’s Honky-Tonk Hell, and 2022’s The Hometown Kid, Lee created that connection by delivering his own stories to an ever-growing audience. His fourth record, Drink the River, takes a different approach. This time, Lee isn’t offering listeners a peek into his internal world; he’s holding up a mirror to reflect their own.Storytelling has been an anchor of Lee’s music since the very beginning. Raised by Taiwanese parents in Nashville, TN, he left home during his teenage years and headed to Indiana, where he obtained college degrees in literature and journalism. Lee launched his career as a genre-bending musician after returning to Tennessee, quickly progressing from dive bar gigs to high-profile opening slots (including shows with Jason Isbell, Los Lobos, Molly Tuttle, and other artists who, like him, blurred the lines between roots-rock, country, and other forms of American folk music) to his own headlining shows. Throughout it all, he drew upon the narrative skills he’d sharpened as a student. If albums like Honky-Tonk Hell and The Hometown Kid often unfolded like autobiographical entries from his road journal, then Drink the River shows an even broader range of his storytelling abilities. Lee isn’t just writing songs about himself; he’s writing songs about all of us. And maybe, in doing so, he can bring us a little closer together.
The ‘Boro Sessions presents: Sasha Papernik and Justin Poindexter
The ‘Boro Sessions presents Sasha Papernik and Justin Poindexter at The Flat Iron on Sunday afternoon, July 13 at 3:00-5:00pm. Advanced Tickets are $20 plus tax and fees. Day of show tickets are $25 plus taxes and fees. This is a seated listening room concert. Sasha and Justin, formerly called “Our Band”, have previously performed for Triad audiences at The North Carolina Folk Festival, the Crown Theatre, and the Martha Bassett Show, among others. They have also performed at Carnegie Hall, Lincolnn Center, the Smithsonian, and have toured multiple countries for the U.S. State Department as ambassadors of American music. They perform a mixture of well loved covers and original music to delighted audiences and standing ovations. Please JOIN US at The ‘Boro Sessions for another amazing concert with Sasha and Justin! Sasha Papernik and Justin Poindexter bring their award-winning songwriting and bold interpretations to a rich Americana soundscape. With their air-tight harmonies, irreverent humor, and astounding instrumental virtuosity, the pair’s restless creativity knows no bounds, both in concert and in their unique music videos. Together, they have performed for audiences in some of the world’s greatest venues, from Carnegie Hall to Lincoln Center to the Smithsonian Museum of American Art. In 2018 and 2019 they toured Poland, Germany, and Estonia as ambassadors of American music for U.S. State Department. Their debut album, featuring American music legend David Amram, was released to critical acclaim in 2021. Songs in their new “Our Band: Live Studio Sessions” project featuring steel guitarist Cindy Cashdollar have won finalist places in this year’s MerleFest and New Song songwriting competitions. ABOUT SASHA PAPERNIKVocalist and pianist/accordionist Sasha Papernik is a classically trained pianist and first generation Russian-American. The Washington Post calls her “uncommonly attractive and entertaining… managing a comfortable balance of the formal and the casual.” Drawing on her dual heritage, she uses her wide range of talents to present concerts spanning genres and continents. Her self-released bilingual album, Victory, has been hailed by reviewers as “unparalleled in its aesthetics and musical elegance” (Indiemunity). Her bilingual concert, “I Speak Music,” has toured New York City schools for The Center for Arts Education, Lincoln Center Education, and Carnegie Hall. Sasha is a graduate of Wellesley College and the Manhattan School of Music. ABOUT JUSTIN POINDEXTERGuitarist and vocalist Justin Poindexter was raised in North Carolina, the son of a country singer and a schoolteacher. Specializing in American Roots music, including folk, blues, country, and traditional jazz, his 2014 album with the Amigos, Diner in the Sky, won Americana Album of Year from the Independent Music Awards. Justin has performed with the Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra, David Amram, Ken Peplowski, Bria Skonberg, Ranger Doug, Nellie McKay, Catherine Russell, and Jon Batiste among many others, and has traveled extensively overseas for the American Music Abroad program. He co-designed and leads Jazz at Lincoln Center’s global outreach concert initiative, “Let Freedom Swing,” which receives 600 performances annually.
Blue Cactus w/ Fancy Gap
Rooted in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, Blue Cactus got their start among the active honky-tonk circuit, developing an electrified twang that now branches out effortlessly into folk, alt-country, and psychedelic-tinged rock. Having released three records to critical acclaim, they have grown a cult following in the South and beyond, their introspective lyricism and blistering guitar techniques making the band potent in the studio and on stage. Their songs are currently featured in NPR Live Sessions and Billboard with albums reviewed in Paste, American Songwriter, and No Depression who praised their ability to paint “beautiful pictures of limitless possibility” in roots music. Their third studio album, Believer, is out now via Sleepy Cat Records. Fancy Gap, the debut album by Stuart McLamb (The Love Language) and Charles Crossingham, captures life’s essence in a country-tinged, radio-ready sound. From poignant reflections on life, death, and love to celebrations of joy and triumph, each track delves into universal themes. Their heartfelt songwriting, honed through their experiences, takes center stage. During the pandemic, McLamb and Crossingham retreated to Crossingham’s cabin in Fancy Gap, Virginia, where they nurtured their musical collaboration. Inspired by ’90s radio rock and classic country, they crafted the album over two years, blending their influences into a cohesive sound.
An Evening With Jim Lauderdale
Singer/songwriter Jim Lauderdale helped lay out the blueprint for the Americana movement of the ’90s and has since continued to earn high critical marks for an eclectic series of albums that have spanned hard country, slick pop, rootsy rock & roll, blues, folk, R&B, and bluegrass. Stylistically restless, Lauderdale’s roots were in hard country and bluegrass, but his first album to be released, 1991’s Planet of Love, was a savvy blend of rock, blues, and traditional country influences. It scored rave reviews, but with 1999’s I Feel Like Singing Today, a collaboration with Dr. Ralph Stanley, he revealed he was also a first-rate bluegrass vocalist. Over the next two decades, Lauderdale would move back and forth between electric and acoustic projects, always steeped in roots music (such as on the eclectic 2021 LP Hope, 2023’s bluegrass themed The Long and Lonesome Letting Go, and 2024’s moody and heartfelt My Favorite Place), while he also built an estimable reputation as a songwriter, as his compositions were recorded — often with considerable success — by a number of country stars, including George Strait, Patty Loveless, Vince Gill, Mark Chesnutt, Kathy Mattea, and George Jones.
