A Mistrust Of Arrival Book Launch ft Steve Mitchell – Modern Robot and special guests
Kai Lance Music Group Album Release Show
Join the Kai Lance Group for a special night of music as they release their debut album, It’s Time. The Kai Lance Group is comprised of musicians from Massachusetts, Chicago, North Carolina, and New York City, and fuses groove music, the jazz tradition, and blues, in a truly unique way. Vinyl LPs, CDs, and T-Shirts will be available for purchase.
Misty Blues w/ Brendan Hinch
Misty Blues 2019 International Blues Challenge finalist, Misty Blues, is fronted by lead singer/band founder Gina Coleman. The band is based out of Berkshire County, Massachusetts playing original and traditional blues with hints of jazz, soul, funk and tent revival gospel since 1999. The band has recorded with Eric Gales, Charles Neville and Joe Louis Walker, and opened for contemporary blues artists like Mike Zito, Albert Castiglia, Tab Benoit, James Montgomery, John Primer, Roomful Of Blues, Albert Cummings and Shemekia Copeland. Misty Blues performs extensively throughout New England and has toured the continental U.S., Canada and the UK. The band has been nominated for a few Independent Blues Music Awards and their original recordings have broad international airplay. In 2024 the band had a song they released selected for use in a U.S. Presidential campaign ad. In the summer of 1999 Gina Coleman was performing in the Williamstown Theatre Festival production of A Raisin In The Sun. That production featured the acting of Ruben Santiago Hudson, Viola Davis, Kimberly Elise and Gloria Foster. Coleman was cast as a gospel singer. Nearing the end of the show’s run, Ruben Santiago Hudson gave Coleman a cd collection entitled Men Are Like Streetcars. He told her that her voice was perfectly suited for the blues and urged her to take that next musical direction. Coleman heeded his advice, and after a quarter of a century, Misty Blues has stood the test of time.
THNG, Moon Womb, and Sonic Blooms
An Evening With Ordinary Elephant
ORDINARY ELEPHANTMesmerizing folk duo Ordinary Elephant has spent the better part of the last decade on anever-ending tour that’s earned married couple Crystal and Pete Damore widespread criticalacclaim and made fans of luminaries like Tom Paxton and Mary Gauthier. In 2017, the pair took home the International Folk Music Award for Artist of the Year on the strength of their breakout album, Before I Go, and two years later, they returned with the similarly lauded Honest, which the Associated Press hailed as “one of the best Americana albums of the year.”The duo hasn’t slowed down, earning consecutive International Folk Music Award nominations for Album of the Year in 2024 for their self-titled release, and then Artist of the Year in 2025.This latest eponymous record is the purest distillation of their sound yet, showcasing the arresting power of the couple’s gorgeous harmonies and intricate fretwork. The songs aretimeless, rooted in rich, character-driven storytelling, and the performances are similarlytransportive, fueled by delicately intertwined banjo, guitar, and octave mandolin. Though the songs were born out of a period of deep uncertainty, the record itself is a work of profound self-assurance, one delivered by a duo whose personal and professional lives embody thelimitless possibility of honest, organic collaboration. Press play on Ordinary Elephant, or attend a live performance, and you’ll hear more than just a husband and wife; you’ll hear thesound of sincerity and commitment, of patience and gratitude, of learning to let go of expectation and revel in the simple beauty of the moment.
Larry Keel & Jon Stickley
The Larry Keel & Jon Stickley Duo features two of the finest flatpicking guitarists of this generation. Both share a lifelong love of acoustic bluegrass guitar music made famous by influential duets Doc and Merle Watson, and Tony Rice and Norman Blake. Keel, Stickley, and other modern flatpickers like Billy Strings grew up studying these legends. These masters were role models who provided inspiration to both Larry and Jon to pursue careers as professional guitar players. Each has gone on to pioneer his own distinct interpretation of the bluegrass artform, as well as fusing genres from roots, jazz, prog, and beyond. Now, Keel and Stickley have themselves become new masters of acoustic guitar. With this act, the two celebrate the pure joy of playing acoustic guitar music as a duo, effortlessly complementing each other’s rhythm and lead playing while never losing their own individual personality. Their sophisticated and awe-inspiring performances suit an array of venues including festival stages, listening rooms, private functions, and nightclubs. At the core of the Keel/Stickley Duo is an intimate conversation between two guitars and voices, done with superior skill and taste, with more than a hint of explosive late-night-jam vibe.
Abigail Dowd’s Songwriter Series w/ Evan Blackerby + Angel Snow
Evan Blackerby is a North Carolina singer-songwriter whose songs blend the spirit of Americana, folk, blues, and roots-rock with a disarming honesty all his own. Winner of the North Carolina Folk Festival’s 2025 “Not Your Average Folk Contest” and a Greensboro Sound Emerging Artist, Evan has spent the last several years building a reputation as one of the state’s hardest-working independent artists. His songs are thoughtful, heartfelt, and rooted in a genuine desire to connect with people through music. We’re excited to welcome Evan to the Flat Iron Songwriter Series. Angel Snow is an acclaimed singer-songwriter known for her haunting melodies, poetic lyricism, and fearless artistic evolution. A Nashville-based artist whose songs have been recorded by artists including Alison Krauss & Union Station, Snow has built a career that moves effortlessly between folk, Americana, and atmospheric indie music. Her latest single, Midnight Sun, showcases the introspective storytelling and emotional depth that have become her hallmark. Currently recording new material and preparing for upcoming U.S. and U.K. tours, Angel continues to captivate audiences with songs that are both deeply personal and universally resonant. Abigail Dowd – Our fearless host who still enjoys music most when it’s embedded in real life, sitting around a fire or every third Tuesday night at the Flat Iron. Each month Abigail invites musician friends to fall into space with her and the audience for what she describes as an evening in her adopted living room. They collaborate, share new songs, play old favorites, make things up, make you cry, make you laugh and most of all make you glad you came
Mo Grass
Born in the foothills of North Carolina, Mo-Grass is a brand-new collaboration of two beloved NC-based bands—Big Daddy Love and The Deluge. They have joined forces with some of the state’s finest soul musicians to create a project that reimagines the Motown songbook and history through a bluegrass lens. At its core, Mo-Grass is about joy, feel, and connection. The band takes timeless soul hits and dresses them in banjo rolls, tight vocal harmonies, and funky, danceable grooves. It’s Motown with a twang, bluegrass with a deep heartbeat, and your favorite soul music that never forgets where it came from. Mo-Grass draws from a legendary catalog that includes both Motown and Stax artists, such as: Stevie Wonder, The Temptations, Otis Redding, The Isley Brothers, Sam Cooke, Marvin Gaye, Dusty Springfield, Bill Withers, and Jackie Wilson, among many others. Each song is treated with reverence and creativity—honoring the originals while carving out something entirely new. Mo-Grass has been officially confirmed for major 2026 festival appearances, including MerleFest, Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion, and FloydFest—a strong signal that this project has struck a chord across genres and generations.The band consists of Brandon Knox and Molly McGinn on vocals, Matteo “Joey” Recchio on guitar and vocals, Kelly Linville on drums, Ashley Sutton on bass, and Brian Swenk on banjo.Don’t miss Mo-Grass as it makes waves across the southeastern music scene—bridging soul and string music with heart, groove, and undeniable spirit.
The Collective ft. Jeff Sipe, Carson Moore, Isaac Hadden, Ava Ramsey, Asher Hill, + Daniel Combs
Irata (album release show) with Gray Young and Nathan Arizona and the New Mexicans
Since its 2007 genesis at the hands of founding members Jon Case and Jason Ward, Irata has mutated relentlessly. Through four previous records, the band has never sat idly in any specific style, while maintaining a signature mesmerizing, grinding pulse between bass and drums that permeates an enigmatic vision of heavy rock. After releasing ‘Tower’ in 2019 as a four-piece, Irata is once again a trio, and continues to push forward into new sonic territories. On ‘Human,’ the band is building on the structures that have created some of its enduring favorites — namely, thundering bass riffs, hypnotic drums, and grandiose choruses. They do not sacrifice expression for refinement, but manage to have it both ways. Their progression is evident in the patience with which “Altar” leads off, a melodic confidence that overarches the eight included songs, and the atmospheres in pieces like “Slipped” (see “pulse…” above) and the expansive finale “Daystar,” but none of ‘Human’ is so overblown as to give up its organically dynamic nature. And perhaps in an era marked by the advent of machine-made art, ‘Human’ can be as much a statement of purpose as a declaration of self. In any case, with this collection of songs, Irata’s focus on vocal melody and intricate riffing distinguish them from a crowded underground sphere. The record moves as two sides of one image, opening with reflections of a final chapter, and closing with reflections of a new beginning through transformation; a story being told as it’s lived. What could be more human than that? ‘Human’ was recorded with longtime friends Hunter Allen and Adam Joyce of The Bronzed Chorus at Amplified Acres in Liberty, NC, and mixed by J. Robbins at The Magpie Cage in Baltimore, MD.