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.