Bio:
Larry & Joe were destined to make music together. Larry Bellorín hails from Monagas, Venezuela and is a legend of Llanera music. Joe Troop is from North Carolina and is a GRAMMY-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician. Larry was forced into exile and is an asylum seeker in North Carolina. Joe, after a decade in South America, got stranded back in his stomping grounds in the pandemic. Larry works construction to make ends meet. Joe's acclaimed "latingrass" band Che Apalache was forced into hiatus, and he shifted into action working with asylum seeking migrants.
Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders. As a duo they perform a fusion of Venezuelan and Appalachian folk music on harp, banjo, cuatro, fiddle, guitar, maracas, upright bass, and whatever else they decide to throw in the van. The program they offer features a distinct blend of their diverse musical inheritances and traditions as well as storytelling about the ways that music and social movements coalesce. Album forthcoming January 2023.
Short Bio:
Reimagining their two musical traditions, Llanera superstar Larry Bellorín (Venezuela) and Latingrass GRAMMY-nominee Joe Troop (North Carolina) play harp, banjo, fiddle, cuatro, maracas, guitar, upright bass, and sing to inspire joy and unity. Program en ingles y espańol. Album forthcoming January 2023.
Press:
7.20.22 - Larry Bellorín and Joe Troop Blend Música Llanera and Bluegrass into Egalitarian Nuevo South Brew, Nick McGregor for Indy Week (cover story)
This concept is baked into the Spanish word inquietude, Bellorín says. He and Troop spend several jocular minutes cycling through possible English translations—Ancientness? Longing? Concern? Reflection?—before accepting the lack of any perfect analog. “That’s the bridge we’re building,” Bellorín says. “We’re structurally dismantling barriers to our music. Language isn’t a barrier, since we play a bilingual set. Race and color aren’t barriers; in the end, all blood is red. We’re promoting a message of unity between our two folk traditions.”
6.1.22 - Beyond Bluegrass: Joe Troop's Worldly View, David Menconi for Walter Magazine
“Joe is an impressive person and an impressive talent,” says banjo legend Béla Fleck, a regular collaborator. “He’s passionate, cares deeply about injustice in the world and he’s not afraid to take a stand. Combine that with his amazing abilities as a multi-instrumentalist, vocalist and composer, and you’ve got a powerhouse.”
5.31.22 - Music of the Nuevo South, Sophia Enriquez for Music Maker
”Latino experiences in the South are diverse and complex, irreducible to a single voice, perspective, or musical tradition. In the Nuevo South, music remains at the center of how many communities understand their relationship to place and allows us to approach these various lived experiences and stories with greater care. Troop and Bellorín’s work is an important part of this larger musical project that brings previously overlooked stories to the fore through new musical friendships.”
4.22.22 - Resplendent Hope: Musings on Musical Twin Flames Joe Troop and Larry Bellorín, Lindsey Terrell for Folkworks.org
“It is my belief that music is one of the most powerful and effective buoys for hope. It is also my belief that no one is doing this better than these two artists. They work together to weave a sonic tapestry that foretells a different future for our world, one of unity, love, prosperity, and mutual respect.”
For more information:
Kayla Oelhafen
919.606.4277
