Two Step

Victorian-chamber-music act Valentine Wolfe lend the soundtrack to a Poe birthday party.

Victorian-chamber-music act Valentine Wolfe lend the soundtrack to a Poe birthday party.

We don’t know if love is in the air a few weeks shy of Valentine’s Day, or whether all the musical couples playing in town this week is just a cute coincidence. Regardless, here’s a list of duos to check out in the listening area:

Valentine Wolfe

This original “Victorian chamber music” duo, comprised of Lady Sarah Black and Braxton Ballew, do a stylish goth-metal thing with a 19th-century flair; both Black and Ballew have post-graduate chops in music. They play The Poe House for Edgar Allan Poe’s Birthday celebration (see “Evermore” in this edition of the newsletter).

Thursday, January 19, The Poe House, 7-11pm (105 1st Avenue W., Hendersonville); thepoehouse.com.

 Bill Altman and Katie Cilluffo

Altman has 30 years’ experience playing in regional bands, Cilluffo is opera trained; both are associated with Flat Rock Playhouse. They’ll offer jazz standards and songs from the stage.

Friday, January 20, Black Bear Coffee, 7-9pm (318 North Main St., Hendersonville); blackbear.coffee.

Carver and Carmody

According to their Facebook blurb, Michael “Country” Carver and Mare Carmody “discovered a kindred musical spirit upon meeting during a Hendersonville song circle, along with a mutual love of fried green tomatoes.” They play originals and standards in blues, rock, and soulful Americana.

Friday, January 20, Sanctuary Brewing Co., 8pm (147 First Ave. E., Hendersonville); sanctuarybrewco.com.

The Pea-Pickin Hearts

Singer Rachel Gibson and guitarist Jon Ives feature the nascent rock of the ’40s and ’50s, as funneled through the Southern Appalachians: rockabilly, folk, rural blues. Country-gospel icon Tennessee Ernie Ford is a musical inspiration, as well as the source of the duo’s memorable name.

Saturday, January 21, Southern Appalachian Brewing; 8-10pm (822 Locust St., Hendersonville); sabrewery.com.

The Moon and You

This cello-and-guitar duo features Melissa Hyman and Ryan Furstenburg, who harmonize beautifully on original folk-pop numbers and have gained a strong following at home and overseas. Their “rich, full sound [suggests] more than one person onstage,” reporter Bill DeYoung of Connect Savannah once noted.

Sunday, January 22, 4-5pm, Family Concert at FENCE (Foothills Equestrian Nature Center, 3381 Hunting Country Road, Tryon); fence.org.

 

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