Mandolin Orange Play Shows at Lowe Mill and Straight to Ale

I arrived early at Lowe Mill on that Friday nearly 13 months ago, eager to stake out a spot close to the dock and soak in the kind of warm, clear evening that you wait all winter for in North Alabama.

I wasn’t yet familiar with Mandolin Orange, the North Carolina duo playing at that night’s Concerts on the Dock.

As the lawn filled with people, pets, folding chairs and coolers, I wasn’t thinking of how Music and Events Coordinator Evan Billiter had promised weeks earlier that Mandolin Orange’s modern take on old time, bluegrass and traditional country “will reach out and touch you.”

I didn’t expect to fall so hard for the lushly interwoven mandolin and fiddle playing of Andrew Marlin and Emily Frantz that I would impulsively drive to their show in Birmingham the very next night.

In that moment, I didn’t know that I’d clasp to the quietly seductive melodies and dark lyrical themes on their double CD, Haste Make/Hard Hearted Stranger while navigating a series of personal and professional changes yet to come.

I certainly didn’t foresee scraping together every spare dollar so we could book a cruise to the Caribbean just to see them perform again.

After all, our passions for music are maddeningly subjective and beautifully unpredictable. There’s no mathematical formula for discovering our next favorite artist, no equation to determine which song will suddenly embed in our subconscious, no science to explain how a melody can transport us to another time and place.

AT THE DOCK

Mandolin Orange captivated me that night as children ran in circles at their feet, as sunshine gradually yielded to a night sky and electric light reflecting off the water tower.

The duo’s rounded harmonies and traditionally influenced arrangements nestled easily into the rustic setting at Lowe Mill, their mellow energy meshing with the social character of Concerts on the Dock.

Marlin and Frantz see their music as a communal experience.

“That’s how I got pulled into old time and bluegrass in the first place. It’s so inclusive, in every way,” Marlin told me recently. “It’s a community of great musicians, great thoughts, great tunes, great instruments.”

THE SOUND INSIDE

The intimate, contained setting at The Bottletree Café in Birmingham the following night brought to life nuances of Mandolin Orange’s hushed style. Enfolded in reverberating melodies, I found myself swaying, eyes closed, in front of the small stage.

It’s no accident that Mandolin Orange’s first album was titled Quiet Little Room. Electric guitar and organ are part of their instrumentation, but they largely create space for the acoustic mandolin, guitar and fiddle.

Listening to Mandolin Orange outdoors and indoors are uniquely different and enjoyable experiences.

When I approached Frantz at The Bottletree to tell her how much I enjoyed the show, she laughed and said, “Yeah, I could tell you were really feeling it.”

I haven’t really stopped feeling it since. [pullquote align=”right”]”Our passions for music are maddeningly subjective and beautifully unpredictable. There’s no mathematical formula for discovering our next favorite artist, no equation to determine which song will suddenly embed in our subconscious, no science to explain how a melody can transport us to another time and place.”[/pullquote]

A YEAR OF MANDOLIN ORANGE

My world began to change soon after those two Mandolin Orange shows in April of 2012.

The Huntsville Times, where I was working at the time, announced a reduction in the print operation. Most employees learned they would no longer have jobs by that fall.

It was a stressful time of uncertain futures and strained relationships. And I listened to even more Mandolin Orange through it all.

“Never Die,” “Killer,” “Life on a String,” “No Weight” and “Clover Tune” became constants in my playlist.

Marlin says many people don’t realize how dark songs often make you feel better.

“A song is kind of like a sense of irony,” he explained. “There’s always some element in life that makes you just have to shrug your shoulders and just be like, ‘Well, screw it, here we go.’ And I think because of that, sad songs actually make you happy.”

A NEW START

By October, my wife and I had relocated to Florida and I had played the “Haste Make” disc so many times that I knew the exact point – two minutes and seven seconds in – when Frantz kicks in with fiddle on the bridge of “Runnin’ Red.”

That’s when we learned that Mandolin Orange would play two shows on a weekend music cruise out of Miami in February called Mountain Song at Sea.

We went, of course, even though we couldn’t afford it. Some things in life are just worth it. We heard some of their new music and I got the opportunity to talk to Marlin and Frantz about their upcoming album, “This Side of Jordan,” set for an August 6th release.

My wife and I have now seen Mandolin Orange once outdoors, once indoors and twice at sea. I don’t know when we’ll get a chance to see them again, but I know that we will.

DON’T MISS THIS, HUNTSVILLE

You don’t have to drive to Birmingham or go on a cruise to discover Mandolin Orange. They return to Huntsville for a third Concerts on the Dock appearance and a first-time show at Straight to Ale brewery.

My advice? Go to both shows.

Mandolin Orange will reach out and touch you, too. I promise.

Find Mandolin Orange

Event Information: Mandolin Orange at Concerts on the Dock

Date: Friday, May 17th
Time: 6-9 pm
Location: Lowe Mill Arts and Entertainment
Cost: Concerts are free but donations are accepted. All donations go directly to paying for future bands.