A beloved North Carolina old-time string band and rotating collective, a Chapel Hill institution that has passed more than two dozen pickers through its ranks, including a young Andrew Marlin.
The Short Version
Who Are They?
Big Fat Gap are an old-time string band out of the North Carolina piedmont, and one of the most beloved fixtures of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro music world. Fiddle, banjo, guitar, mandolin, and upright bass, played the old way: fast, loose, and communal.
They are less a fixed band than a rotating collective. Founded and anchored by Miles Andrews on upright bass and vocals, the group has passed more than two dozen players through its ranks over the years, including a young Andrew Marlin, who went on to lead Watchhouse.
Their reunion shows at the Haw River Ballroom have become a regional tradition, the kind of homecoming where a whole community shows up to dance. This is front-porch music made for a full room.
The North Carolina piedmont the band comes out of.A Chapel Hill Institution
The Story
A string band that became a scene, and a rite of passage for a generation of pickers.
The Roots
A collective forms
Anchored by Miles Andrews, Big Fat Gap grows into a rotating old-time band at the center of the Chapel Hill and Carrboro scene.
2004
Live at Cat's Cradle
A live album from the storied Carrboro club captures the band in its element: loud, joyful, and made for dancing.
2007
A Brief History of the Big Fat Gap
The studio record that gathers the band's originals and old-time favorites into one place.
Since
The reunions
Even as members move on to other bands, Big Fat Gap's homecoming shows at the Haw River Ballroom have become a beloved regional tradition.
Three Videos, One Introduction
Start Here
Three live performances of old-time standards. This is dance music, so imagine a crowded floor.
01 · The Ballad
"Moonshiner" live
The old drinking ballad, sung and stretched out the way this band does it. A perfect first taste.
A rotating collective more than a fixed lineup, held together by one constant.
A rotating cast of piedmont pickers.
Miles AndrewsUpright Bass / VocalsThe founder and anchor; the one constant across every version of the band
The Rotating CastFiddle / Banjo / Mandolin / GuitarMore than two dozen players have passed through over the years, giving each era its own flavor
Andrew MarlinAlumnus (Mandolin)A young Big Fat Gap picker who went on to lead the acclaimed Watchhouse, formerly Mandolin Orange
A Farm Team
Part of Big Fat Gap's legend is who came through it. For a stretch of North Carolina old-time players, this band was a rite of passage and a school all at once.
The Roots of the Sound
Influences
Big Fat Gap play in the deep old-time and early bluegrass tradition. Here are the wells they draw from.
The Old-Time Source
Tommy Jarrell
The North Carolina fiddler who, more than anyone, kept the old-time tradition alive and passed it to a new generation.
Catch a reunion. The live show is the whole point; a festival like Front Porch Fest is a natural home for it.
The alumni. Follow the players who came through, from Andrew Marlin's Watchhouse outward.
The old-time source. Trace it back to Doc Watson and Tommy Jarrell, the roots of the whole piedmont tradition.
The scene. Explore the Chapel Hill and Carrboro acoustic world that Big Fat Gap helped anchor.
The Way to Listen
Old-time is dance music. Put on "Wild Bill Jones," picture a packed floor at Cat's Cradle, and let the fiddle pull you in. It is meant to move you, literally.
