Watchhouse, the North Carolina based duo of Andrew Marlin & Emily Frantz, have announced a new studio album Rituals, due out May 30, 2025via Tiptoe Tiger Music / Thirty Tigers. The collection marks the band’s first release of all new, original songs since their 2021 self-titled album, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Bluegrass chart and earned praise from Rolling Stone (“pristine acoustic picking collides with hazy, dream-like psychedelia”) Mojo, NPR Music, American Songwriter and more.

Rituals, co-produced with Ryan Gustafson (The Dead Tongues), explores the boundariesbetween identity and awareness, and how we often confuse patterns with truths. The 11-songcollection muses on the endless nature of evolution, asking questions like: how can we have apositive relationship with change? How can we meet our ends gracefully? “Is the world on fire orat home in the sun?”

“All Around You,” the first track released from the album, features layered guitars, a steady beatand floating vocal harmonies. The song wrestles with how we often view home as a destination, just as we look back longing for the past. It ultimately arrives at an understanding that whereverwe are, we are already home, emphasizing that trusting in our own awareness allows us to face the future with the wisdom we’ve acquired.

Starting over a decade ago playing coffee shops and local restaurants around North Carolina,Watchhouse is a grassroots success story that’s been driven by Marlin’s poignant songwriting. With sold-out shows at legendary venues like Red Rocks and the Ryman Auditorium, andhundreds of millions of streams, they’ve earned a reputation for creating music that “redefinesroots music for a younger generation” (Washington Post). The duo-now with a family of theirown-are two singers and musicians with profound chemistry, performing earnest yetmasterfully crafted songs that encompass the unknowable mysteries, existential heartbreak,and communal joys of modern life. The forthcoming album is no exception.