The Carrborators began here in Carrboro in the 1990s as a madrigal group performing vocal music from the Renaissance and Middle Ages. Its style has changed, along with its lineup and its name (a few times) over the years. Named The Carrborators since 2010, founder-member Michael Goy is the only original band member. The name was chosen for the bandmates' shared love of Carrboro.
Goy grew up in a musical family and has been playing guitar for 63 years. He started out learning flamenco guitar because there was just one teacher in the Oregon town where he grew up and flamenco was their specialty. He formed a band with his brother in Wisconsin after college and then kept refining his musical artistry during his professional training. He moved here to teach neuroscience and biochemistry at UNC's medical school in 1988.
Goy provided this description of the current lineup for the band: "Four songwriters (Michael Goy, Tracy Feldman, Leah Kaufman, and Janet Buehler) have teamed up with bassist Marc Alperin to provide a rich blend of singer-songwriter folk-rock. Tracy plays fiery fiddle, Michael brings airy and intricate finger-style guitar, Leah provides rhythmic counterpoint on guitar and mandolin, and Marc extends the sonic palette with solid licks on upright bass. Add in Janet’s stunning voice and you get sweet and soulfully blended 4-part vocal harmonies. Their debut album, Caffeinated Heart, is rooted in the contemporary singer-songwriter tradition, but fortified with a healthy dose of rock-and-roll and tempered with a subtle dusting of bluegrass."
In conversation, Goy describes their sound as, "avant-garde/Americana-ish/folk rock." Due to turnover among band members, the group has been more of a performing band than a recording band over the years, which suits them as they all love performing. This particular lineup has been together one year and is building a roster of new performing dates around the Triangle region.
They are playing Sunday, September 28 at The Carrboro Century Center at 3:15 and their original acoustic set includes two songs from each songwriter.
You can hear recordings of The Carrborators on Soundcloud (2017) and Spotify, where you'll find the full-length release, Caffeinated Heart, from 2011 with all songs written by Michael Goy.