acoustic syndicate

Fans who found their way to Raleigh's Lincoln Theater for Acoustic Syndicate's unofficially annual Thanksgiving show may have been surprised at what they heard – that depends on their recent history seeing the band. Acoustic Syndicate continues to move forward with alarming insistence, not exactly shunning their previous existence but at least regarding it from afar. They drew a nice crowd of holiday weekenders and longtime fans together for a traditional gathering on one of the coldest nights of the season, but the show was far from nostalgic.

Armed with an album’s worth of new material for the first time in nearly a decade, Acoustic Syndicate returned to Carrboro, NC’s Cat’s Cradle for a Saturday night show that turned out to be a showcase for new songs instead of the usual barrage of crowd favorites. The McMurry clan (Steve, Bryon, and Fitz), along with bassist Jay Sanders and Billy Cardine on dobro, are newly committed to making music again, and it’s invigorating for the band and their fans to hear freshly minted songs emanating from the stage.

In 2011, it seems that Acoustic Syndicate is really and truly back, at least in a regional sense, with bassist Jay Sanders fully on board, several tour dates in the southeast, and their first new batch of songs since 2004.