Asheville, NC-based roots artist Anya Hinkle (vocals, guitar) teams up with Nashville-based fiddler/vocalist Libby Weitnauer for an intimate exploration of acoustic music rooted in the sounds of
Appalachia and seasoned by travels around the globe. Following international tours in Japan, Europe, and across the US over the past year, the duo will bring their surprisingly dynamic range of styles back home in 2026.
Originally from the Appalachian Mountains of Virginia, Anya's music is steeped in the tones of folk and mountain music, featuring award-winning songwriting, vibrant musicianship, and striking honesty. About her latest album Oceania, Americana Highways writes, “This North Carolina singer-songwriter...is the real deal – melodic with rich traditional instincts... one of the year’s best.”
Oceania (2024, Red Parlor Records) was produced by GRAMMY award-winning Irish producer Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinéad O’Connor) and features Celtic guitar legend John Doyle alongside slide guitar master Billy Cardine. Americana UK notes, “Hinkle delivers an absorbing vocal performance, full of character and soul...with her own distinctive sound,” while RnR Magazine (UK) says, "Her vocal style...has a mix of purity, intensity, and richness...it mirrors the music itself, individual, distinctive, and deeply satisfying.”
Songs from the album were featured in No Depression and Folk Alley’s “Best Of” playlists, and the track “Eitil Away” won the USA Songwriting Competition in the World Category.
Anya won the Merlefest Chris Austin song contest (2019) and was the runner-up in the 2021 International Acoustic Music Awards. She has played stages at Merlefest, Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival, La Roche Bluegrass Festival (France), Richmond Folk Festival, Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival, Moab Folk Festival, and Bristol Rhythm & Roots Reunion.
She has recorded 11 albums in various configurations, including recordings with bluegrass bands Dehlia Low (Rebel Records) and Tellico (Organic Records), of which she was a founding member, and currently with her worldgrass trio TANASI (Mary Lucey, Billy Cardine).
ABOUT LIBBY WEITNAUER
Originally from the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains, fiddler Libby Weitnauer moved to Nashville, TN, after earning degrees in classical violin performance from both DePaul and New York University, while also exploring traditional fiddle styles. She has gone on to collaborate with artists such as Margo Price and
Jake Blount, record on various GRAMMY-award winning albums, perform at the Grand Ole Opry, and tour in the Broadway musical Oklahoma! She is also a dedicated educator, researcher, and recording artist.
Both artists have been awarded prestigious grants for their work: Hinkle was the recipient of the USArtist International grant from the National Endowment for the Arts with her worldgrass trio TANASI in 2025, and Weitnauer was awarded the 2021 Tennessee Arts Commission Grant for her solo project, Sixteen Kings Daughters.
You may also like the following events from The Wake Forest Listening Room:
- Next month, 4th December, 07:45 pm, John Howie, Jr. & the Rosewood Bluff w/Kelsey Rae Copeland in Wake Forest
- Next month, 5th December, 07:30 pm, An Evening with Rod Abernethy in Wake Forest
- Next month, 12th December, 07:30 pm, An Evening with the David Childers Trio + Colin Cutler in Wake Forest
Also check out other
Music events in Wake Forest,
Entertainment events in Wake Forest,
Festivals in Wake Forest.
