Rising Appalachia takes two nights at The Freight in March

The folk duo's first East Bay shows since 2023 land at Berkeley's Freight on Tuesday, March 23, and Wednesday, March 24, 2027, with a new album about rest and repair.

Rising Appalachia's newest songs are about rest — restoring your spirit after burnout, replenishing yourself in the wild and in tradition. Next March the duo brings them to Berkeley for two nights in a listening room.

Rising Appalachia plays The Freight on Tuesday, March 23, and Wednesday, March 24, 2027, both at 7 p.m. Tickets are through The Freight. Both dates were announced Oct. 23, and they're the group's first in the East Bay market since November 2023.

The band is sisters Leah Song and Chloe Smith, and they've spent years blending Appalachian folk with whatever their travels pick up — the genres on their records run from folk to indie to hip-hop. Earlier albums came with ambitious tours to match: *Wider Circles* was tied to a train-based run through the Southwest that started in New Orleans, according to Live for Live Music, and *Leylines* had its own fall tour.

What's new since their last visit is *Trade My Troubles*, which listings for the band's Hurricane Helene anniversary shows describe as "a soft light glowing from a quieter, more introspective time," with songs about motherhood and heartbreak. Explore Asheville carried that description for the Black Mountain, North Carolina, shows at Pisgah Brewing. The album features guests Aoife O'Donovan, Ayla Nereo, Bonnie Paine and Brittany Haas, and "Chance at Wholesome" was released as its second single, per Rhythm Passport.

Songs about rest, built for a room where people actually listen.

That theme lines up with something the band has talked about publicly: an Art Restart podcast episode framed time off as "the newest tool in their slow music toolbox." A quieter record, made after stepping back, makes a natural fit for a quieter stage.

The Freight is that stage. The room holds about 600, and it's built for acoustic music — the kind of place where a fiddle line and two voices in harmony carry without anyone needing to shout over the bar. For a band whose newest songs lean introspective, two nights there is a better setting than a big club.

Booking back-to-back weeknights also says something about demand. If you're planning to go, pick a night early, and if you missed the band in 2023, this is the closest they'll be for a while. Bring someone who needs a night off.

Sources: Rising Appalachia: Hurricane Helene Anniversary Show (Day 1) — Explore Asheville (exploreasheville.com); Rising Appalachia: Hurricane Helene Anniversary Shows (Day 1) — Pisgah Brewing (pisgahbrewing.com); Daily Discovery: Rising Appalachia – Chance at Wholesome — Rhythm Passport (rhythmpassport.com); Rising Appalachia — Afton Tickets (aftontickets.com); Rising Appalachia's Wider Circles showcases the beauty of folk — Live for Live Music (liveforlivemusic.com); Rising Appalachia announce new tour, record — Live for Live Music (liveforlivemusic.com); For Rising Appalachia, time off is the newest tool in their slow music toolbox — Art Restart (podcast.ausha.co); Rising Appalachia — Wikipedia (en.wikipedia.org); The Freight — tickets (thefreight.org); JamBase: Rising Appalachia at The Freight (Mar 23) (jambase.com); JamBase: Rising Appalachia at The Freight (Mar 24) (jambase.com); Rising Appalachia (risingappalachia.com)