YOU OUGHTA KNOW: The Old North

Written by Lex Nappa 

Photo courtesy of The Old North
 
Every Friday, we’re here to remind you of the Boston artists we love and think you oughta know.
 
A hidden gem in Boston’s folk scene, The Old North deserves to be on your list of bands to see this summer. Singer/songwriter Andrew O’Keeffe’s smoky vocals and the band’s upbeat, bluegrass-meets-pop vibe enchant any venue they play. When you catch them live, it sounds like O’Keeffe, Hayes Cummings (guitar), and Max Liebman (bass) have been playing together for years. But this is a relatively new venture for the Americana trio; their first EP as a band is planned for release this September.

After their skillful 2-hour set at Atwood’s Tavern, we got in touch with the band to ask a few questions.

ALLSTON PUDDING: What’s the story behind your name, The Old North?

THE OLD NORTH: The band name is a play on the civil war era “Old South” but spun to reflect the band’s base in New England. The name is a nod to the combination of Hayes being from North Carolina, and Andrew from the Boston area.

ALLSTON PUDDING: Are you a history buff at all? I ask not only because of the name, but a couple of your songs sound like stories told from an earlier time.  

THE OLD NORTH: Yeah, I’m kind of a history nerd […] I love songs that tell a good story and folk music is obviously full of them. Traditional music from the Canadian Maritimes and Southern bluegrass are big influences on how I try to write and talk about history in songs. I actually put quite a bit of effort into learning the background of certain events so I can write about them accurately. There’s definitely a lot of that in the music we’re recording right now and you’ll hear it on the EP.

ALLSTON PUDDING: What are you all listening to right now?

THE OLD NORTH: Andrew is listening to Brown Bird and Colter Wall, Hayes is into Doc Watson, Hank Williams, and Lightnin’ Hopkins, and Max is on the Wood Brothers and Sturgill Simpson.

If you needed a reason to dip your toe into some local contemporary folk, The Old North is a great place to start. Be sure to stop by the SoWa Market this summer, June 30th, to catch them live in the city. Other show dates are listed here.

You can get a taste for their live performance by watching this video for “Drifter” recorded at the Lilypad: