Rising Appalachia
A sibling duo who use their music as a voice for social change as well as creative expression, Rising Appalachia are a folk group whose music fuses the traditions of the American South with 21st century sounds, issues, and concerns. Rising Appalachia was the brainchild of sisters Leah and Chloe Smith; the former has also performed and recorded under the name Leah Song. The sisters were born in Georgia, and spent most of their youth in Atlanta; their mother was a jazz pianist while their father was a folk music enthusiast who often staged hootenannies in their home. The siblings developed a passion for soul and hip-hop while coming of age in urban Atlanta, but after several years of traveling across the country and around the world, Leah and Chloe began reconnecting with Southern folk music after spending time with musicians in rural Appalachia. In 2005, emboldened by their love of Southern folk music, Leah and Chloe spent a night in a friend's home recording studio and cut a handful of tunes which they handed out to friends and relatives as a gift. Word began to spread about the homemade album, and friends and fellow musicians encouraged the sisters to give it a wider release. In 2006, the album received an official release titled Leah and Chloe and credited to Rising Appalachia. Before long, Rising Appalachia became the name of the duo, and they relocated to New Orleans, Louisiana, where they frequently busked in the streets when they couldn't find paying gigs. 2007 saw the release of their second album, Scale Down. In 2008, the duo announced they were retiring the name and would be performing as R.I.S.E., the name of a creative collective that would bring together artists and performers of different creative disciplines in support of community activism. As R.I.S.E., they issued the album Evolutions in Sound: Live in 2008. While they remained active with R.I.S.E., they reclaimed the name Rising Appalachia in 2010, releasing the album The Sails of Self. Their touring schedule became busier as they traveled around the globe with their music, and the two began working with other musicians. Percussionist Biko Casini and bassist and guitarist David Brown became a regular part of the group's live performances. Rising Appalachia financed the recording of their 2012 release, Filthy Dirty South, with a crowd-funding campaign; like their previous albums, the sisters released the album themselves, and have produced, managed, and marketed their careers from the beginning. In 2015, Rising Appalachia dropped the album Wider Circles and supported it with a tour in which the group traveled exclusively by train. Leah also launched a new project, the Slow Music Movement, to encourage other artists to embrace new ways of using music to serve the community. When Rising Appalachia returned to the road in 2016, they dubbed the trip the Fertile Grounds Tour, to promote a closer relationship between producers and consumers of healthy foods; the group also announced a new alliance with the Permaculture Action Network. The Fertile Grounds Tour coincided with the release of a new single, "Find Your Way." The group issued the 2017 concert album Alive, followed a year later by a the Remast EP, a set of tracks remixed by bandmember David Brown which was credited to Castanea and Rising Appalachia. They returned in 2019 with the full-length Leylines, which features guest spots from Trevor Hall and Ani DiFranco.
© Mark Deming /TiVo
-
The Lost Mystique of Being in the Know
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 21 May 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Live From New Orleans at Preservation Hall (Live)
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 11 Nov 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Stand Like an Oak (Full Band)
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 19 Nov 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Wider Circles
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 20 Apr 2015
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Filthy Dirty South
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 23 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Thank You Very Much
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 16 Sep 2022
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Sails of Self
World - Released by Rising Appalachia on 22 Apr 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Soul Visions
Rising Appalachia, The Human Experience
Dance - Released by Human Experience Creations on 18 Jul 2013
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Alive (Live)
Alternative & Indie - Released by Rising Appalachia on 28 Sep 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
-
Leah and Chloe
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 31 Dec 2004
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Hungry World
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 20 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Stromboli (feat. Rising Appalachia) [The Human Experience Remix]
Dance - Released by Slow Down on 20 Sep 2019
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Evolutions in Sound: Live (Live)
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 31 Dec 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
-
Stand Like An Oak
Folk - Released by Rising Appalachia on 21 Apr 2020
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo