My first exposure to Mandolin Orange was an early, first year, performance of Mandolin Orange at The ENO festival river stage. It was Andrew’s deep Southern baritone that lured me to the small shade stage in a stand of trees. A mix of lyrically mature, subtle well-crafted songs, kept me close to the stage for the rest of the set. This duo was different from the average blend of Eno performers that year and certainly chronologically younger than the majority.  

Mandolin Orange has been making a fair amount of noise over the past few years. The Chapel Hill duo led by married couple Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz, both 31, plays soothing, meditative, and disarmingly frank folk songs that seem perfectly suited for smaller venues or zoom concerts during pandemics.

Music at The Mansion: Mandolin Orange

N.C. Department of Natural and Cultural Resources
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On Tuesday, May 28th, Mandolin Orange played a special set at the North Carolina Executive Mansion in Raleigh to help usher in a partnership between Come Hear North Carolina and the Americana Music Association (AMA). Governor Roy Cooper and First Lady Kristin Cooper hosted musicians, AMA members, and press to celebrate all that North Carolina has given to the world of music, and Mandolin Orange provided the perfect soundtrack to the occasion. Enjoy the full performance below.

Mandolin Orange – Golden Embers

From the album – Tides of a Teardrop – out now on Yep Roc Records

Frantz pulls inspiration for her singing style from diverse traditions: Her first introduction to harmony came from traditional five-piece bluegrass singing. “What I first got introduced to was more traditional bluegrass, and the brother-sister harmonies — like the Stanley Brothers, the Monroe Brothers, things like that, where it’s a pretty straightforward harmony that’s really simple,” she says.

 “But after that, I started to enjoy — someone who I guess is really well-known for this would be Emmylou Harris. She has such a unique harmony style,” Frantz goes on to say. “She doesn’t stick necessarily to the tenor part, or the baritone part, or anything. She really jumps around, and can sing those dissonant notes that really make her voice jump out, but it’s still somehow really complementary to whoever’s singing lead.

 “I’m thinking maybe specifically of Gram Parsons and Emmylou Harris,” Frantz adds. “But she was someone who really broadened my idea of what harmony could be.”

Read More: Interview: Mandolin Orange’s Emy Frantz Talks New Album | https://theboot.com/mandolin-orange-tides-of-a-teardrop-album-interview/?

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