While North Carolina-based Yarn has appeared on Grammy ballots four times, they most excel as a live band, playing an all American-blend of rock ‘n’ roll, country and bluegrass. In a recent double bill appearance with Annapolis’s Pressing Strings at The Hamilton Live, they lived up to their reputation for compelling, electric live performances.
Pressing Strings took the stage first at The Hamilton Live on Feb. 27. While both Pressing Strings and Yarn are considered jam bands, where Yarn leans into bluegrass, the Strings play more of a blues-rock style. That was evidenced in two covers, Cream’s “Badge” (their power trio format is clearly influenced by this band) and Taj Mahal’s “Further On Down the Road,” which they finished with. I wasn’t familiar with their work before Friday, so I didn’t know a lot of the songs; I did catch that one was called “Angry Birds,” after the popular mobile video game. They also played “The Wheel,” which will appear on the new album they’ve recorded. I was a bit surprised that, given the double bill, they played for nearly 90 minutes, but I am not that surprised, as bands in this genre tend to play long sets.
Stream “Angry Birds” by Pressing Strings on YouTube:
This being the case, it was fairly late when Yarn took the stage. Lead singer, principal songwriter, and frontman Blake Christiana talked about how grateful he is to have a career in music; before this, he was an “office drone” in New York City, where he lived in an apartment on the 52nd floor. (The band took off from Brooklyn, but has since relocated.) Which is high, but it’s not that high for a jam band. Heh-heh!
In true jam band fashion, he didn’t say much for the rest of the set, which included “Heart So Hard” and “Traveling Kind.” As tired as I was, I had a hard time tracking the songs, but they were all a lot of fun, and the playing was loose and dynamic. It was easy to get lost in the groove, and it was a great way to relax after a long, hard week.
Watch the official music video for “Traveling Kind” by Yarn on YouTube:
I’m not normally a big fan of jam band music, and a lot of bluegrass sounds the same to me, but Yarn’s loose style coalesces around the kind of well-structured songs I prefer. Their songs put them a cut above their peers, even if they’re at their best stretching out on stage in front of a live audience.
Here are some photos of Yarn performing live at The Hamilton Live on Feb. 27, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss.
Here are some photos of Pressing Strings opening Yarn at The Hamilton Live on Feb. 27, 2026. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Ari Strauss.
