Everyone in the Triangle has a side project, or six. My buddy Dave plays in what seems to be about 14 bands, for example. Thursday’s Locally Grown after-party was lead by one of the side projects of Mandolin Orange’s Andrew Marlin, the pure bluegrass band Mason’s Apron; it’s Andrew, two of the Big Fat Gap guys, and Hammer No More The Fingers drummer Jeff Stickley, who’s a killer bluegrass guitarist. They tore it for well over an hour before I flaked out and went home to sleep (old person, here), and shouldn’t ever be called a “side project”. Just one more thing that Andrew’s great at, really.

The Dogwoods closed and I missed their set, but I gather they’re in the mold of Magnolia Collective; a muddle of like-minded musicians doing a handful of originals and cover versions of songs beloved to them, and I hear they’re great, too. Next time.