Anya Hinkle & John Doyle: “Oceania” Album Release Celebration

Asheville, NC-based Appalachian-Americana singer/songwriter Anya Hinkle and renowned Irish guitarist John Doyle team up for a celebration of OCEANIA, Hinkle’s new album released in 2024 on Red Parlor Records. OCEANIA, produced by Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinéad O’Connor), features Hinkle’s award-winning songs supported by Doyle’s celebrated sense of groove and melody on guitar. The result of their collaboration is a collection of songs that uses the vastness of the great Pacific as a metaphor for how our lives are often quite uncertain–uncertainty as wide and deep as the ocean itself–requiring more courage to voyage across it than we think we have at times. Expect an evening of songs and stories from across the globe from two master storytellers and musicians.

Anya Hinkle tends to her craft with both personality and purpose. Based in Asheville North Carolina, she shares her songs with exacting detail, superb storytelling and an emotional honesty that reflects her rural roots in Appalachia and its surrounding environs. Nevertheless, she’s consistently expanded her musical parameters through regular touring throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia, soaking up the diverse influences of the sounds and cultures that she’s encountered along the way.

With her new album, Oceania — due for release on Red Parlor Records this spring — Anya brings that inspiration to full flourish. Recorded at Citizen Vinyl studios in Asheville, and overseen by veteran producer Kevin Moloney (U2, Sinéad O’Connor), the album features an impressive group of players, including renowned Irish guitarist John Doyle on guitar, bouzouki, and mandola; acclaimed slide guitarist Billy Cardine on Dobro, lap steel, and chaturangui; Daniel Kimbro on bass; River Guerguerian on percussion; Mary Lucey sharing harmony vocals; and special guests Michael McGoldrick contributing Uilleann pipes and whistle; Mick McAuley on accordion; and Clark Rinard on organ and electric piano.

Lauded as “a darling of the Americana scene” by Bluegrass Today, and described by PopMatters as “…a burgeoning force behind the Appalachian roots revival…,” Anya has reached a new peak in her career, one that’s yielded ten albums to date — including those on her own and several in collaboration with others. Oceania also marks the latest triumph in a trajectory that’s yielded a first place win in the 2019 MerleFest Chris Austin Songwriting Competition (courtesy of her song “The Ballad of Zona Alston”),  a win at the 2023 USA Song Competition, and runner-up status at the International Acoustic Music Awards in 2022.