For those that know him, it should not be a surprise to hear that Malcolm Holcombe has lived many different lives over the past 50 some-odd years that he’s been around. If you listen to enough of his music it will tell you everything you’d want to know about how a hard life and good music go hand-in-hand.

Simply put, this is one of the great American songwriters that continues to chip away and add to an immensely dense catalog of deeply felt material.

My first time seeing Malcolm was around 2004, and it happened to be at one of his favorite places to play (i think), The Town Pump in Black Mountain, NC. To this day i have yet to see an artist put out what Malcolm did that evening. Equal parts sad, spooky, and captivating. Was it the lyrics? Was it the tuning and everything being played with a first fret capo? Was it the screaming, drooling, and turning his back to the crowd? I still don’t know, but that memory has never faded and it’s a true honor to be able to finally bring him to Pickathon.

In 2008, Wall Street Journal writer Jim Fusilli did a pretty good job of getting at what makes him tick and where he’s come from. If interested in a little more back story, you can find that article HERE.

Take a listen and make sure to seek him out at this years festival.