Rising Americana Duo Pauses in Their Travels to Play Hendersonville

Nikki Talley and Jason Sharp make a pit stop at Southern Appalachian Brewery.

Nikki Talley and Jason Sharp make a pit stop at Southern Appalachian Brewery.

In “Behind the Van Curtain,” published two years ago in Verve magazine, singer/songwriter Nikki Talley of Brevard talked about how she and her then-meteorologist husband Jason Sharp yanked up their roots to criss-cross the country in their van “Bluebell,” leaving behind any claims to stability and becoming full-time musicians.

They’re still at it, having logged thousands of miles and countless shows since they first began their journey in 2011.

“We took a leap of faith, and the net that caught us was made by human hands,” Talley memorably told reporter Katy Nelson. “Every now and then, they swing us back up in the air.”

The duo makes hundreds of appearances a year, from coffeehouses to clubs to festivals to house parties, and it’s rare to see them on the home turf that nurtured their mountain folk-rock oeuvre (Talley’s memorable vocals, melodic and brawny, are the band’s stamp).

Since April, they’ve toured heavily in the Southwest, New York, and Boston.

“We are very happily celebrating our little independently released album [Out From the Harbor, recorded at local Echo Mountain Studio] cracking the top 100 Americana Charts,” says Talley. (It’s sitting now at 80.) “This was a big deal for us. With that, we’ve been receiving airplay throughout the U.S.”

Talley says, “I’m really looking forward to being back in touch with the community that has supported me for so long. I have felt a little disconnected, because after doing 150 to 200 shows a year, a lot has changed every time we come back off the road. When you spend more time away from home, it’s hard to figure out what you call home.”

Talley and Sharp will be joined by a full band in late August at the Grey Eagle, and will also do a Tuesday-night residency at Jack of the Wood this fall.

But first up, catch them at Southern Appalachian Brewery on July 31, 8-10pm.

822 Locust St., Hendersonville. 828-684-1235. www.sabrewery.com. www.nikkitalley.com

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