Anyone who’s caught a Carbon Leaf show over the past three decades probably has a pretty good idea just what those values are: brotherhood, commitment, empathy, integrity, self-reliance. Founded at Randolph-Macon College in 1992, the group evolved from a houseparty cover band into something far more profound after graduation, when they moved to Richmond and made the shift to original music. The band’s first three albums helped build a devoted cult following, but it was 2001’s Echo Echo that truly brought Carbon Leaf to national attention, with lead single “The Boxer” earning the group a performance slot in front of millions of viewers at the American Music Awards. After nearly ten years of self-releasing and grinding it out on the road (both as headliners and as guests appearing on bills alongside the likes of Dave Matthews Band, O.A.R., Jason Mraz, Blues Traveler, and Guster, among others), the band signed with Vanguard Records in 2004 for their critical and commercial breakthrough, Indian Summer, which yielded a Top 5 hit at AAA radio and garnered rave reviews everywhere from The Washington Post to WXPN. While the band would go on to release two more similarly well-received albums with Vanguard, it soon became obvious to everyone that independence wasn’t simply an ideal for Carbon Leaf, but rather an integral part of their DNA, and so in 2010, the band parted ways with the label in order to return to their DIY roots and take complete and total control of their career. Acting as their own label, distributor, and manager, the band cut new versions of all three Vanguard albums in order to regain the rights to the recordings, launched their own festival, and began releasing a successful series of direct-to-fan concert films, livestreams, and studio records leading up to the first installment of the Gathering series in 2018. “The initial idea for these Gathering albums was to get a bunch of our musical friends together in the studio for a weekend and make something really communal and collaborative,” explains Privett. “We had some of our pals from We Banjo 3 join in on Volume 1, but for the second installment we decided to strike out on our own because the songs just felt more personal and introspective.” Though Carbon Leaf had traditionally embraced a wall of sound approach in the studio, this time around they went back to the basics, focusing on raw, acoustic arrangements that placed the storytelling front and center. With guitarist Terry Clark handling engineering duties, the band—Privett, Clark, stringed instrument wizard Carter Gravatt, bassist Jon Markel, and drummer Jesse Humphrey—captured performances on and off over the course of roughly six months, experimenting with a wide variety of instruments and mic placements to generate a series of immersive, transportive sonic landscapes. COVID-19 Acknowledgement & Ticket Disclaimer: This ticket is a revocable license and may be taken up and admission refused upon refunding thepurchase price appearing hereon and is grounds for seizure and cancellation withoutcompensation. Holder of this ticket (“Holder”) voluntarily assumes all risks and dangerincidental to the game or event for which this ticket is issued whether occurring prior to, during,or after same, including, but not limited to, contracting, and/or spreading the COVID-19 virus,and agrees that the organization, venue, presenter, agents, participants, or players are notresponsible or liable for any injuries, sickness, or death resulting from such causes. Holderacknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a threat to individual and public health,COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease transmitted through human contact and respiratorydroplets (including through the air and via common surfaces) and it is possible that Holder maycontract COVID-19 while at the game or event for which this ticket is issued. Holder agrees byuse of this ticket not to transmit or aid in transmitting any description, account, picture, orreproduction of the game or event to which this ticket is issued. Breach of the foregoing willautomatically terminate this license. Holder agrees that the license comprised by this ticket maybe removed and Holder may be ejected from the game or event for which this ticket is issued inthe event that Holder violates any law, ordinance, or venue regulation. Holder grants permissionto the organization sponsoring the game or event for which this ticket is issued to utilize Holder’simage or likeness in connection with any video or other transmission or reproduction of the eventto which this ticket relates.