Watchhouse, Two Runner

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Jillian Clark

A close-up of Watchhouse.

Watchhouse

Watchhouse’s self-titled debut in 2021 was a trippy bluegrass deviation of the highest order and debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard bluegrass chart. The North Carolina-based duo Andrew Martin and Emily Franz’s new record, Rituals, steers all the way into country pop with a hit of Sturgill Simpson psychedelia. The pair are drawing new, younger fans to their own brand of new-day Americana at venues ranging from Red Rocks to the Ryman. With Two Runner.

media release: North Carolina duo Watchhouse (Andrew Marlin & Emily Frantz) have announced a new studio album called Rituals, due out May 30, 2025 via Tiptoe Tiger Music / Thirty Tigers. The collection marks the pair’s first release of all new, original songs since their 2021 self-titled album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart and earned praise from Rolling Stone (“pristine acoustic picking collides with hazy, dream-like psychedelia”) Mojo, NPR Music, American Songwriter and more.  

Rituals, co-produced with Ryan Gustafson (The Dead Tongues), explores the boundaries between identity and awareness, and how we often confuse patterns with truths. The 11-song collection muses on the endless nature of evolution, asking questions like: how can we have a positive relationship with change? How can we meet our ends gracefully? Is the world on fire or at home in the sun?

With the announcement, Watchhouse unveils lead single “All Around You.” Featuring layered guitars, a steady beat and floating vocal harmonies, the song wrestles with how we often view home as a destination, just as we look back longing for the past. Ultimately it arrives at an understanding that wherever we are, we are already home, emphasizing that trusting in our own awareness allows us to face the future with the wisdom we’ve acquired.

Watchhouse will tour across the US in 2025, including dates supporting the Avett Brothers and festival slots at MerleFest, Rocky Mountain Folks Festival, Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots and Iron Blossom Music Festival. Their headline US tour in support of the new album kicks off June 14th at the Palace Theater in Saint Paul, MN before stops in Chicago, Seattle, NYC, Boston, Nashville, Atlanta and more. For tickets and all upcoming shows, please visit https://watchhouseband.com/.

Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina, Watchhouse have grown into a bonafide folk music sensation and one of 21st century indie music’s biggest grassroots success stories. With sold-out shows at legendary venues like Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium, and hundreds of millions of streams, they’ve earned a reputation for creating music that “redefines roots music for a younger generation” (Washington Post). The duo - now a family of their own - are two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing earnest yet masterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak, and communal joys of modern life. The forthcoming album is no exception.