Nashville husband and wife duo Carolina Story will perform a special album release show at The Well (located at 4002 Granny White Pike) on July 12 in support of their full-length debut album Lay Your Head Down, which releases on July 13 via Black River Americana. Centered around the gorgeous harmonies of Ben & Emily Roberts, Lay Your Head Down is a collection of original songs that capture two people’s moving journey through questioning, self-doubt and ultimately their perseverance. The beauty in the duo’s music is the way in which they collaborate and create as a couple, which translates into their live performances, encouraging the listener to process and celebrate these experiences along with them.
Ben and Emily met in Memphis while attending college. After dating for three months, the couple took a camping trip to North Carolina, where they co-wrote their first song. The idea of starting a band came together on the car ride home, and Carolina Story was born. Though Ben and Emily’s life today is a shared dream come true, it has taken roughly ten years of working other jobs (high school sports coach to baker), touring relentlessly and writing to arrive at this point. Married with two young children, Carolina Story’s decade long pursuit of a career in music is finally coming to fruition.
The experience of growing as partners in both life and music informs the themes of gained wisdom, commitment, parenthood and resolve that are woven into Lay Your Head Down. The melancholy “We Were Young Once Too” laments the loss of innocence while also appreciating the wisdom gained with experience, while “Your Children’s Children” focuses on things one might pass on to their own children. An album standout, “Let Me Rock, Let Me Roll” captures the essence of Carolina Story, how they genuinely love singing together and share a commitment to both music and life. Ben and Emily co-wrote all of the material on the new album which was mostly recorded in Nashville, TN at Sound Stage Studios and produced by Nick Autry.
