Young-old souls Chatham Rabbits play Manitou Music series

From staff reports

The Chatham Rabbits hop onto the Lake Street Studio Stage on Sunday, August 4, at 8 pm to perform the next Manitou Music series concert. 

With fresh chemistry and the charming appeal of young-old souls, Chatham Rabbits—Sarah Osborne McCombie on vocals and banjo and Austin McCombie on vocals, guitar, and fiddle—fill the spaces they enter with genuine warmth. Their original songs are stories flush with strong characters, vivid imagery, and evidence of their binding ties to the South.

Hailing from Bynum, North Carolina, just like the original Chatham Rabbits string band of the early 20th century, this couple is what duo dreams are made of. Since abandoning their corporate careers in 2018, Chatham Rabbits now tour with their hound dog Ruby. They have sold out venues across North Carolina including the iconic Cat’s Cradle, they have been featured on National Public Radio and PBS, and recorded their debut album All I Want From You (Robust Records, 2019) with Mandolin Orange’s Andrew Marlin.

Austin McCombie and Sarah Osborne crossed paths in 2013 when he spotted her onstage opening for Mandolin Orange. He didn’t know much about old-time music and she didn’t know much about him, but they figured it out. Together they’ve played smoky bars, summer festivals, busked on the streets of Nashville ‘til voices wore out, and led churches in old-time hymns way past time for Sunday lunch.

Manitou Music is a project of the Glen Arbor Arts Center (GAAC). Tickets are $20 for nonmembers, $18 for GAAC members, and people under age 18 are free. The concert venue is Lake Street Studios Studio Stage, at 6023 S. Lake St., Glen Arbor. In the event of rain, the concert moves to the Glen Arbor Town Hall, at 6394 W. Western Avenue/M-22, Glen Arbor. For more information and to order tickets, visit GlenArborArt.org.