Songwriters renew their harmony

Four North Carolina singer-songwriters will perform an encore in Carrboro tonight — of a show they first played in March.

The ArtsCenter’s Songwriters Round will feature Katharine Whalen, best known for her work with the 1990s band Squirrel Nut Zippers; Justin Robinson, a member of the Grammy-winning Carolina Chocolate Drops; and solo folk artists Shawn Luby and Christy Smith.

Whalen said the same group of singer-songwriters performed at a show in March that Luby organized at The Casbah in Durham.

“We’re all friends, we’re all songwriters, and I think he just asked around, and we were the four that were available,” Whalen said.

“It was so fun the first time, I thought, ‘Let’s do it again.’”

Whalen said she emailed Art Menius, the executive director of The ArtsCenter, to see if he would be interested in putting on another show by the four musicians.

She said she thought the organization’s atmosphere would be perfect for the show.

“I knew it was more amenable to something like this coming in,” Whalen said.

“(The performance will) not be a big touring act. It’s not a big, late-night, drinking liquor, rock ‘n’ roll show,” she said.

Menius said putting on a show with artists of the group’s caliber would help The ArtsCenter’s reputation as a venue for folk music.

“The ArtsCenter offers a warm, friendly room and a supportive audience, and we’re focusing more and more on being the venue for folk, singer-songwriter, blues, old-time and bluegrass,” he said.

“Our goal is to be the premier venue for all kinds of folk artists between Atlanta and D.C.”

Smith said the musical diversity of the artists made performing with the group attractive to her.

“It’s extremely inspiring for me to see the way we’re all trying to achieve the same end, which is to express ourselves and to explore the ups and downs of life and relationships,” she said.

Whalen said the format of the show will offer some unique characteristics that separate it from most concerts.

“It’s not your usual concert where you go and you just hear some songs,” she said.

“Everybody has really good stories, and everybody has a really interesting character. It’s almost more like theater to me.”

She said the solo aspect of the show made the intimacy of the songs they perform stand out.

“There’s more psyching yourself up mentally, but also being really exposed — preparing yourself to expose your songs to people,” she said.

“When I was listening to the other songwriters at the one we did in Durham at The Casbah, everybody was putting really personal stuff in their songs, whether it was veiled or completely transparent — it’s different to expose yourself that way.”