Singer/songwriter Lonnie Rott stopped by Live & Local last week, following the release of his new EP “Whistling in the Dark.”
Follow Lonnie Rott on Instagram.
Rott’s first release in two years, “Whistling in the Dark” has been described as an “extended, Americana-infused meditation on death” – a meditation that explores not just the sadness of death, but also the extent to which death, sad as it is, is the very thing that enables the creation of new life. Rott himself characterizes the EP as “five songs about the fact that everything dies at last, and too soon.”
“I love that phrase,” he says of the EP’s title. “I’ve always loved it. That’s kind of what I’m doing, I guess, when I write songs…it’s a thing I do to feel comfort. So the songs revolve around that idea.”
It’s ostensibly a solo project, but “Whistling in the Dark” also features a who’s-who of local notables – including Anne-Claire, Chessa Rich, Remona Jeannine, Libby Rodenbough, Charles Cleaver, and Saman Khoujinian, among many others.
Listen to the album and purchase it on Bandcamp.
Some of those musicians will be joining Rott on stage in the near future: he has upcoming shows March 21 at the Hartwell in Raleigh; March 28 at the Belltree in Carrboro; and April 24 (with Chessa Rich) at the Pinhook in Durham.
And he’s not done releasing music this year: “I have another set of songs that (are) more angry political songs,” he says. “That’ll come out later at some point.”
Lonnie Rott stopped by Live & Local to discuss the EP and play three songs: “Killing Time,” “Forgotten,” and “Horizon.” Listen:
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Subscribe: RSS
Comments on Chapelboro are moderated according to our Community Guidelines