North Carolina husband-and-wife duo Sarah and Austin McCombie—better known as Chatham Rabbits—want fans to know that their newly announced album, Be Real With Me, is a step into their lives. The duo has spent the two years since their last release having a bit of a “Return to Saturn,” reevaluating their lives and careers through trial and error, dialing in exactly where their priorities and commitments lie moving forward. “I’m ready for our fans to get to know the people we are now,” says Sarah. “We’ve grown up together, and getting to reveal this album feels like our collective coming of age.” In their transparent and honest way, the album’s title is a plea to each other, their intermingled friends, family, and fanbase: Be Real With Me.
Due out on February 14, 2025, Be Real With Me goes beyond the vows, banjos, and vintage dresses Chatham Rabbits might have been known for previously. The music speaks for itself, but Sarah is happy to share insight into their process and progress. “We got married so young,” she says. “We are simply not the same people we once were because playing music for a living has consumed and transformed us. This lifestyle has presented us with exhausting tour schedules, vulnerable songs that force us to talk about our marriage, difficult business decisions, and the ever-complicated dilemma of mixing art and money, friends and employees.” The result is a universal reckoning with responsibility and growth; two real people spending their lives and careers together, collectively facing the ups and downs of it all.
Fans will hear that growth in the music as well. “We’ve never been a bluegrass band, but being from NC, we cannot ignore the regional influences all around us,” says Austin. “We sampled organic tones and manipulated them into synth pads and percussive elements on this record. It feels like a natural progression because the foundational components of our music are still there—we’ve just added to it.” Written post-pandemic by Sarah and Austin and recorded over a two-year period at the Studio at Small Pond Farm in Pittsboro, North Carolina, Be Real With Me was co-produced by Austin McCombie and the band's longtime collaborator, Saman Khoujinian (The Dead Tongues, Lou Hazel). On this album, fans will still hear Sarah’s banjo, but alongside it are elements like a drum machine, synthesizer, and pedal steel. But it’s the self-reflective, earnest lyrics that reveal the McCombies' most profound growth.
Yesterday, Americana Highways premiered the first single from Be Real With Me, an indie-folk study on the boundaries we set for ourselves and others, called “Matador.” “I wrote ‘Matador’ from a place of being equally fed up with my own shortcomings when it comes to weak boundaries, and also from a place of recognizing that it takes two to tango,” Sarah reflects. “‘Matador’ is for anyone who puts on blinders to ignore red flags from others. It’s a song for those who wish they could just stop with the niceties and get real and confrontational—it’s okay for those of us who are always bending to others to finally be the ones who stop, address an issue, and get the final say. We owe it to ourselves.”
Fans can stream or purchase “Matador” today at this link and pre-order or pre-save Be Real With Me ahead of its Valentine’s Day release right here. Chatham Rabbits hit the road again on November 8th in Washington, DC, with an album release tour set for early next year. A full list of dates can be found below or at chathamrabbits.com/tour.
Be Real With Me Tracklist:
Facing 29
Matador
Gas Money
Childhood Friends
Big Fish, Small Pond
Did I Really Know Him
One Little Orange
Collateral Damage
Pool Shark’s Table
Catch Chatham Rabbits On Tour:
Nov. 8 - Kennedy Center - Washington, DC
Nov. 10 - The Golden Pony - Harrisonburg, VA
Nov. 13 - Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. - Milwaukee, WI
Nov. 14 - The Bur Oak - Madison, WI
Nov. 15 - Thrasher Opera House - Green Lake, WI
Nov. 16 - LO-FI Lounge - Indianapolis, IN
Feb. 12 - Analog at Hutton Hotel - Nashville, TN
Feb. 13 - App Theatre - Boone, NC
Feb. 14 - The Grey Eagle - Asheville, NC
Feb. 15 - Eddie’s Attic - Decatur, GA
Feb. 21 - State Theater - Greenville, NC
Feb 22 - 23 - Haw River Ballroom - Graham, NC
Feb. 27 - Richmond Music Hall - Richmond, VA
Feb. 28 - The Southern Cafe and Music Hall - Charlottesville, VA
March 1 - Jammin’ Java - Washington, DC
March 4 - Joe’s Pub - New York, NY
Mach 6 - Club Passim - Cambridge, MA
March 7 - Back Porch Fest - Northampton, MA
March 8 - The Wood Barn - Exeter, NH
March 9 - Caffe Lena - Saratoga Springs, NY
March 13 - Lyric Theatre - Blacksburg, VA
March 14 - The Burl - Lexington, KY
March 15 - The Monarch Music and Arts Community - Louisville, KY
March 16 - Laurel Theatre - Knoxville, TN
March 27 - Charleston Pour House - Charleston, SC
March 28 - Kenan Auditorium - Wilmington, NC
March 29 - Neighborhood Theatre - Charlotte, NC
