Genre: Americana
Led by WNC natives Clint Roberts and Helena Rose, Holler Choir is an Asheville based String band outfit quickly breaking out in the Roots Music Scene. Both respected artists in their own right, Roberts and Rose's musical union is a sound that is proving to be more than the sum of its parts. Their sound features tight vocal harmonies, driving clawhammer banjo energy, and melodic hooks reminiscent of 90's Triple A radio hits.
Holler Choir's debut full length record, produced by bluegrass veteran Mike Ashworth of Steep Canyon Rangers and engineered by Hillsboro based Jason Richmond (Avett Brothers, Rising Appalachia), is due for release in spring of 2023. The inception of their sound can be heard on Roberts's last solo EP release by the same name, "Holler Choir" in early 2022. In those sessions, the band was decidedly born, having created a sound that was very much their own.
Brevard, NC Native Clint Roberts is the chief songwriter and singer for Holler Choir, and has collected a series of industry nods in recent years, including shout outs from Rolling Stone, Bill Board, American Songwriter, and Cowboys & Indians. Roberts' 2021 Rose Songs broke into the top 50 Americana Records Charts that year. Having moved back from Nashville TN to his home in Western North Carolina in recent years, Roberts began a creative return to his musical roots in Appalachian instruments and tonalities. This involved taking his focus back to instruments classically utilized in bluegrass bands, such as dobro, fiddle, banjo, stand up bass.
Waynesville, NC Native Helena Rose has been a member of the Western NC and Eastern Tennessee roots and old-time scene for quite some time, having been playing the banjo since the age of 8 when she learned through the Junior Appalachian Musician (J.A.M.) program. Before meeting Roberts, Rose studied at East Tennessee State where she met and joined Johnson City based Bill and the Belles and toured across the US and UK. Since graduation, she has continued to tour, and has become a clawhammer banjo instructor and sought after harmony singer for recording artists in the region.
With Roberts and Rose at the helm of the project, Holler Choir is the new band to keep an eye out for in 2023.