Chapel Hill Pop “Noir” band The Old Ceremony are releasing their seventh full-length album, Earthbound, on October 17th, 2024, via Robust Records in multiple formats, including vinyl. The album was recorded at Overdub Lane in Durham, NC, and co-Produced by the band and Thom Canova. The band also describe their sound as “literate folk rock.”

The 11 original songs were penned by founding member Django Haskins, who’s also an ongoing member of a troupe touring in tribute to seminal Rock band Big Star for over a decade, organized by Big Star drummer Jody Stephens.

Formed in 2004, The Old Ceremony has reinvented themselves many times after beginning as an eleven-piece mini-orchestra, and slimming down to a five-piece touring band (guitar, bass, drums, vibraphone/keys, violin). The source of the band’s name hails from Leonard Cohen. The songs contained in Earthbound are culled from the 115 new songs Haskins wrote during the pandemic period and the songs that were selected are wide-ranging, running the gamut of storytelling, reflective musings, and philosophical takes.

The Old Ceremony has shared bills with The Jayhawks, CAKE, Squirrel Nut Zippers, Mountain Goats, Chuck Berry, Giant Sand, and many more. Meanwhile band leader Django Haskins, in addition to participating in the Big Star tribute tours, co-wrote and recorded an album of Folk-Rock originals with the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris under the name Au Pair.