Carbon Leaf celebrates new album over wine in St. Louis

Acclaimed Richmond, Virginia-based indie rock band Carbon Leaf — who released their latest album, Time Is The Playground, on September 27th — began their long awaited tour here in St. Louis on September 25th, playing to a teeming City Winery downtown. The venue filled up super fast with enthusiastic aficionados after doors were opened and the wait staff was moving around constantly all night due to the amount of people that were at this show! This was my first time at City Winery, which is a wine-based restaurant/venue tucked inside of the newly built City Foundry — a food hall, full of local venders serving regional and cultural eats, which was recently added to St. Louis — and it was pretty fancy, not going to lie. Example being, I’ve never been given my own reserved table at a show before!

It wasn’t your typical venue, but that definitely didn’t stop Carbon Leaf’s faithful fans from showing up and showing their support.

Carbon Leaf was the sole performance of the night: no opener joining them on tour, but honestly they don’t need one. Everyone was there to see them… there is no point in delaying satisfaction for fans. Once the night got kicked off, the band started with the title single from the new album; it was clear that they instantly wanted fans to know what they were getting with this new record. Filling out the rest of the setlist were familiar hits like “Smokey Joe” and “Desperation Song”. A standout moment for me was when the band brought out the omni-directional microphone: they all crowded around it for a couple of “single-mic” acoustic songs. Letting the music speak for itself is the best way to truly connect with it and there’s no better way to do so than to strip away as much of the technology as you can.

For more than 30 years, Carbon Leaf has enchanted the public with their unique blend of folk, Americana, and rock influences. Originally formed as a college cover band at a school just outside of my hometown in 1992, the central Virginia group has progressed into being one of the more beloved indie rock bands to come out of the east coast. With over 3,500 live shows under their belt, it’s no wonder that their infectious spirit and exceedingly catchy songs have landed them on stages with icons like Jason Mraz, John Mayer, and Dave Matthews Band, while — most importantly for indie artists — maintaining their freestanding roots and overall creative control.

Time Is The Playground, available everywhere now, marks Carbon Leaf’s first full-length album in a decade, blending nostalgic storytelling with nuanced, folk-infused indie rock. The band is ready to share it with the world, setting out on their coast-to-coast tour this fall to support the release, wrapping up in their hometown of Richmond on December 18th. So get out there and experience it for yourself!

Photography by Thomas Semonco

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