Saturday, October 11, head to Saxapahaw for Sleepy Fest, an all-day music festival hosted by local music label Sleepy Cat Records! The festival starts at 11:00 a.m. with a free outdoor arts market and music on the Haywagon Stage until 4:30, then continues at the Haw River Ballroom with ticketed performances inside and outside from 2-10. The lineup includes Alice Gerrard, Joseph Terrell, Slow Teeth, a DJ set from Magic Al, and many more.
Conversation presented by Sleepy Fest. Click here to get more information and buy tickets to the festival.
Among the bands on the Sleepy Fest lineup is Slow Teeth, a trio of Robert Chamberlain, Justin Ellis, and Jeremy Haire. They’ve been together for four years, writing music and developing a reputation as one of the Triangle’s best live bands – and this year, Slow Teeth broke out with their debut EP, a stellar collection of four complex, slow-building rock masterpieces reminiscent of Pink Floyd. They celebrated that release earlier this year with a West Coast tour, which included a pair of shows in Vancouver – their first shows outside the U.S.
“We drove the whole way in a 25-year-old van that almost didn’t make it, but it did,” says Ellis.
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But while that tour was a big success, the guys are equally excited about Sleepy Fest – an event that hits especially close to home for Slow Teeth, who have a very tight connection with Saxapahaw.
“For us, this show in particular is really special,” Ellis says. “Robert and Jeremy both live in Saxapahaw, and we rehearse in Saxapahaw. We’ve written all of our songs there. We’ve recorded there. We get lunch and coffee every day at band practice out there – but we’ve never played in Saxapahaw, and we’ve been (together) for four years. And the Haw River Ballroom is a place we’ve always wanted to play…
“And I’ve only missed one Sleepy Fest as an attendee, and Saman (Khoujinian) and Gabe (Anderson) from Sleepy Cat Records are very old and dear friends of mine. They’re great. I’ve known them since I was 18, we met on the same open-mic night – so to see their collective star rise in this way, and to get to be a part of it, is just a really special thing. I’m so excited for it.”
Slow Teeth will make their Saxapahaw debut at Sleepy Fest on October 11, and they’re already lining up big plans for the rest of the year as well – including a special show at Motorco Saturday, December 20, where they’ll mark the 50th anniversary of Pink Floyd’s seminal album “Wish You Were Here” by playing the entire album live.
“It’s going to be a really fun way to end (what has been) a very banner year for us in many ways,” says Ellis. “And then we’re going to hunker down and write and record some more songs.”
Slow Teeth stopped by Live & Local to promote Sleepy Fest and play the track “Plushy” from their new EP. Listen:
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