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Three artists with Charlotte ties return to the place they once called home next week: UNCC alumni Nicole Atkins and Concord natives Jason Roberts and Brian Harding of Hymns play back-to-back shows together Tuesday and Wednesday at Snug Harbor.
Atkins is finishing a string of dates with friends the Avett Brothers, including a sold-out Halloween gig Saturday at The Ryman in Nashville ("That's the one (show) I'm most excited for. I'm not going to start crying the second I enter the building!" Atkins gushed last week).
Despite her 2007 Columbia Records debut "Neptune City" peaking at No. 3 on Billboard's Heatseekers charts, Atkins has parted ways with her label. She's currently working on a deal with a midsize label to release her next album, which she describes as "dark cabaret meets Echo and the Bunnymen."
Her major-label journey is quite different than the one the Avetts are experiencing, she says.
"The Avetts are already a lot more established than I am since they've been touring for the last 10 years. They will probably have an easier time than I did with a major. They already had a fan base built," says Atkins, who was in the band Memphis Quick 50 with Avetts bassist Bob Crawford and attended art school at UNCC with Seth Avett.
"The one parallel I could see is when you're on a major label, you have to wait a long time to get things done. There are lots of rings of administration, but being on a major label allowed me to skip a lot of steps that most bands go through."
The New Jersey native didn't know Roberts and Harding from Charlotte, she says. She met Brooklyn's Hymns in New York.
"We go to the same bars," says Hymns guitarist Roberts. "She knew Brian, then we did the Tom Petty Fest at the Bowery Ballroom. I was the house guitarist and she was the backup singer."
Hymns has also been through changes since opening for Whigs at Visulite Theatre last spring.
"The next day, our bass player and our drummer quit," Roberts recalls. He and Harding, the band's founding members, recorded a new EP, "Appaloosa." It illustrates Hymns' growth and features guest players from Rooney, the Willowz and "Mother Mother" singer Tracy Bonham (who Roberts met similarly while playing Dylan Fest in New York).
While Roberts admits to being disconnected from the Charlotte scene, Atkins - who cut her performing teeth in Plaza Midwood and NoDa - remains close to many musicians here.
"Last year, when I was opening with the Avetts, my band wasn't able to make the shows in Greenville and Greensboro and DK (David Kim), Matt Faircloth, Shawn Lynch and John Phillips all just pulled together a band," says Atkins. "I think Charlotte is a well spring of super-talented people. I got a lot of help shaping my sound from learning from people like the Houstons, Randolph (Lewis) and Benji (Hughes). It's only matter of time before more Charlotte bands get more recognition."
