Coming home: Mandolin Orange

Saturday night in the small town of Warrenton, N.C., Mandolin Orange returned to the Southeast after several weeks touring in the North. Among those stops, they taught a workshop at the famed Berkelee College of Music (which rejected member Andrew Marlin as an applicant years ago) and the Folk Alliance Conference in Toronto.

Warrenton is the childhood home of Marlin, and many of his family and friends turned out for the performance at Cast Stone Systems, an industrial warehouse outfitted with a stage made from recycled materials. A large crowd with many requests filled the room, and Marlin played with a little more gusto than usual.

Below, Mandolin Orange plays “Cornered,” an unreleased number only played by request when Marlin returns to his hometown. This is an interesting song and gives insight into Marlin’s early songwriting content before his move to Chapel Hill. Also below is an old-time instrumental number called “The Cherokee Trail”.