Hours after Barack Obama took his oath of office on Jan. 20, 2009, Carrboro, N.C., burrito joint Armadillo Grill hosted an old-time music jam. That night, Andrew Marlin, a self-taught guitarist, found a complement and foil in Emily Frantz, a well-studied fiddler. The collaboration that started then quickly adopted the name Mandolin Orange, and the duo’s debut, Quiet Little Room, arrived in 2010. Third album, the magnificent This Side Of Jordan (Yep Roc), Mandolin Orange surges with a full band’s depth without sacrificing any of the front-porch closeness or weary sincerity of previous efforts. Mandolin Orange will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our brand new feature on the duo.
Andrew: Ocracoke Island is a magical little part of the Outer Banks off the coast of North Carolina that Em and I have become very attached to. It’s where we played one of our first gigs (at a wedding) and has now become a place of refuge for us. Getting to know the island makes you realize how over developed its neighboring barrier islands are, and getting to know the locals makes you never want to leave. At night, there are no street lights, and the beaches are pitch black. It’s a remote paradise made for star gazers and day drinkers.
Video after the jump.
