Rising Appalachia Returns, Kat Factor Dazzles At Inaugural Sonoma Wild Festival [B.Getz on L4LM]
Photo: Alan Sheckter — Rising Appalachia - Sonoma Wild, 6/7/25 originally published via Live For Live Music
After spending the lion’s share of 2024 on a quasi-sabbatical of sorts, Rising Appalachia made a triumphant return to Northern California the first weekend in June. Fronted by scintillating siren sisters/multi-instrumentalists Leah Song and Chloe Smith, the soulful folk ensemble headlined the inaugural Sonoma Wild Festival in Sonoma County. An environmentally focused, family-friendly gathering hosted June 7th at SOMO Village in Rohnert Park, Sonoma Wild fans were blessed with beautiful weather and a vibrant collective energy, as the community came together to connect, village, and dance under the sun until it finally raced over the horizon.
Rising Appalachia’s soothing, spirited 90-minute set capped a fantastic day of music marked by a riveting throwdown from Kat Factor of Gone Gone Beyond, plus performances from Broken Compass Bluegrass, Saritah, Painted Mandolin, and Ras K’Dee. Festival-goers enjoyed auxiliary experiences like a workshop on volunteering/activism hosted by Leah and Chloe, a Brazilian drumming workshop with Joe Craven and Mike Wofchuck, sound healing sessions facilitated by Danny Goldberg, and storytelling with the legendary psychedelic clown Wavy Gravy.
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Gone Gone Beyond was initially booked for a 70-minute set. However the quartet seems to be going through some interpersonal stuff, a hiatus or lineup changes, likely both, though it remains unclear. To her credit, Kat Factor boldly took the reins, swiftly assembled a sensational seven-piece band of friends and family, and commandeered the stage with a humble confidence, vulnerability, and verve. At times wielding a bass guitar, acoustic six-string, or banjo, Factor dug deep and sang marvelously; she wowed every beating heart present from the first song to her final bow. Ever the chanteuse, Kat came correct with a series of stirring readings of GGB chestnuts—a chilling “Gravity” to open, goosebump-inducing “Another Earth”, the emotional rollercoaster “Riptide”, and fan favorites like “Canyons”, “Little Moon”, “Shine”, and “Coast”.
Kat Factor mixed in a few of her own joints, unreleased originals “Daydreaming” and “Lucky Ones”, as well as “Running Wild”, a tune she said would be on the next Gone Gone Beyond release, should that one day come to fruition. For now, the band’s future appears murky, but there ain’t nothin’ that time won’t heal. Yet if the byproduct of said uncertainty is a Kat Factor solo run, then make no mistake, we’re all in—and that’s a promise.
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After a short reggae-tinged tweener from Saritah, Leah Song and Chloe Smith (with son Keleo briefly in tow) took the stage as a duo for an a capella reading of Celtic ballad “Handsome Molly”, which they recently released as a single. The acoustic quintet then assumed their positions, with multi-instrumentalists David Brown and Duncan Wickel and percussionist Biko Casini flanking the sisters on all sides as they unveiled a sweet selection of tracks that dot their career, beginning with the ethereal “Novels of Acquaintance”.
Rising Appalachia took an extended time off last year, only performing a select few dates. Chloe was laser-focused on maternity, while the rest of the band pursued other passions and enjoyed time off the road. Later, the unfathomable scale of Hurricane Helene’s destruction to their home base of Asheville, NC (and her surrounds) in September 2024 launched the women back into direct action and activism during the extended period of recovery that continues to this day.
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Rising Appalachia’s sublime sesh to close out Sonoma Wild continued with the mysterious “Make Magic”, activist rallying cries of “Harmonize”, “Stand Like an Oak”, and “Catalyst”. Protest anthems like “Be Loud” arrived right on time, followed by odes to their former home city New Orleans (“Downtown”) and her inimitable street parade energy (“Indigo Dance”). Reaching back into the traditions, the quintet channeled childhood fiddle-camp memories on the fiery “Love Her In The Morning”, a dose of the original Appalachia trance. Late in the set, Rising Appalachia welcomed all-world percussionist Joe Craven (Painted Mandolin, David Grisment Quintet) for a polyrhythmic sit-in, eventually dialing it back down for the encore: a sultry a cappella duet on the sisters’ classic “Mississippi”.
words: B.Getz
