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. Listen to “All Around You” HERE.
Pre-order / pre-save Rituals (out May 30) HERE.
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.
Watchhouse 2025 Tour Dates
April 11 - Storrs, CT - Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts
April 20 - Boulder, CO - Bluebird Music Festival
April 25 - Dale, TX - Old Settler's Music Festival
April 27 - Wilkesboro, NC - MerleFest
May 31 - Vienna, VA - Wolf Trap *
June 14 - St. Paul, MN - Palace Theatre
June 15 - Maquoketa, IA - Codfish Hollow Barnstormers
June 17 - Kalamazoo, MI - Bell's Eclectic Cafe
June 18 - Madison, WI - The Sylvee
June 19 - Chicago, IL - Thalia Hall
June 20 - Indianapolis, IN - Rock the Ruins
June 22 - Louisville, KY - Old Forester's Paristown Hall
July 11 - Morrison, CO - Red Rocks Amphitheater *
July 12 - Cheyenne, WY - The Lincoln
July 14 - Jackson, WY - Center for the Arts
July 16 - Seattle, WA - Neptune Theatre
July 17 - Jacksonville, OR - Britt Festival Pavilion
July 18 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
July 19 - Portland, OR - Revolution Hall
August 9 - Lyons, CO - Rocky Mountain Folks Festival
August 10 - Colorado Springs, CO - Pikes Peak Center
August 12 - Toronto, ON - The Concert Hall
August 13 - Buffalo, NY - Asbury Hall
August 14 - Homer, NY - Center for the Arts of Homer
August 15 - Portland, ME - State Theatre
August 16 - Manchester, VT - Green Mountain Bluegrass & Roots
August 18 - Charlton, MA - The Pavilion at Tree House Brewing
August 30 - Wilmington, NC - Greenfield Lake Amphitheater
September 21 - Richmond, VA - Iron Blossom Music Festival
October 15 - Glenside, PA - Keswick Theatre
October 16 - Boston, MA - Royale
October 17 - New York, NY - Webster Hall
November 7 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle
November 8 - Nashville, TN - Ryman Auditorium
November 21 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
November 22 - Asheville, NC - Orange Peel
November 23 - Knoxville, TN - Tennessee Theatre
* supporting The Avett Brothers
