Date(s): SUNDAYS, January 4th, 11th, 18th, & 25th, 2026
Type of Show: Music
Showtime(s): 4:00 pm (SEATED GALLERY SHOWS)
Tickets: $25.00 seated
Sundays with Omar and Friends: Fiddles, Strings and Stories
Fiddler and studio multi-instrumentalist Omar Ruiz-Lopez (Violet Bell) is launching a month-long residency and series of shows in The ArtsCenter Sweet Bay Gallery in Carrboro, NC, starting 1/4/26.
Joined by a different backing band, each show will have its own theme and sound.
1/4/2026 – Jonathan Byrd “…one of the top 50 songwriters of the past 50 years.” — Chicago Tribune (UPDATE 1/3/26) Jonathan had to cancel this appearance. In his place is the talented Emma Geiger. https://emmageiger.com/ https://emma-geiger.bandcamp.com/
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1/11/2026 – Samara Jade “…a folk singer with the heart of a rock ‘n’ roll band.” — K. Oliver, Free Times
Samara Jade is a forest‑frolicking folk troubadour, multi-instrumentalist, and musical seamstress who threads together earthy grooves, soul-soaked vocals, and thought-provoking lyrics into a genre affectionately dubbed “Philosopholk.” A natural-born songcrafter, Samara’s first instrument was a set of pots and pans as a toddler—and she’s been making joyful noise ever since. Drawing inspiration from jazz, blues, Appalachian roots, Broadway musicals, and the wild whispers of nature, her music dances between play and depth—offering listeners both heartfelt medicine and clever mischief.
Born in the Hudson Valley of New York state, and shaped by the mountains and rivers of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington state, Samara has been a grass-roots style touring folk musician for over a decade, spreading her songs all across this country and weaving and widening the webs of community, though she now mostly resides near Asheville, North Carolina.
A collaborator by nature, Samara performs in the Washington-based folk trio “Three Wheels Turning,” in a duo with fiddler Megan Drollinger called “Balsam Fae,” and with her husband, Mica Moon, in a collaborative mythobardic storytelling show called “The Floating Kingdom.”
Offstage, she carries songs and stories into deeper communal spaces—leading community song circles, nature-based singing retreats, and rites of passage journeys that guide people back to their voices, their bodies, and the land. She identifies as a “Song Doula” as well, guiding others throughout soulful processes of creating their own heart’s song.
https://www.samarajademusic.com/
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1/18/2026 Lyle de Vitry – CANCELLED due to weather 1/17/26!
Much like life itself, the music of Lyle de Vitry comes in cycles. With his intricate, ambient fingerpicking guitar style and suede-soft baritone voice, de Vitry mesmerizes audiences into meditative serenity. Immersed in rich and nuanced harmonic composition, listeners are gently drawn into the here and now. Effortlessly moving between unity and dissonance, voice and instrumentation, rhythm and melody, de Vitry seamlessly integrates the comfort of folk music with the spine-shivering emotional release and intentionality of classical compositions. In so doing, he manages to create a sound as dynamic and honest as the ocean’s eternally flowing tides or the planet’s ever-changing seasons.
Lyle de Vitry is an acclaimed songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. In 2023, he was selected as one of ten finalists in the internationally recognized Telluride Troubadours contest and was named runner-up in the NewSong LEAF Singer-Songwriter Competition. He recently completed the prestigious Residency at 821 hosted by Lamplight AVL in Asheville, NC, and is currently developing an instrumental album, set to be recorded in the summer of 2024. His debut album, Door Within a Dream, is set to be released in August 2024.
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1/25/2026: Joe Westerlund
Under his own name, Joe Westerlund has emerged as an intuitive improviser and composer during the last decade, scoring deep meditative practice over the course of three full-length solo records. After all, Westerlund—a longtime student of Milford Graves—has now spent more than a quarter-century gleaning lessons from folk musicians and avant-garde icons, from close friends and challenging strangers alike. He served as the dynamic backbone of Megafaun, the North Carolina trio that he cofounded, and initiated collaborations with Arnold Dreyblatt, On Fillmore and Justin Vernon. As a session drummer, he has worked as the pulse beneath the plaintive Americana of Watchhouse, Daughter of Swords, and Jake Xerxes Fussell and been a textural anchor for the folk abstraction of Califone. Currently, he tours and records primarily in an improvisational trio, Setting (with Jaime Fennelly and Nathan Bowles), as a duo with trumpeter Trever Hagen, and as a solo artist on Psychic Hotline. His latest release, Curiosities from the Shift, is Westerlund’s definitive statement so far: a playful exploration driven by beats but not bound by them.
He/They
About Omar Ruiz-Lopez
Omar Ruiz-Lopez (he/they) is a Latin-Americana artist whose music bridges old-time, Celtic, and Brazilian fiddle traditions with indie folk songwriting. A bilingual singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, Omar brings classical training, emotional depth, and a cross-cultural perspective to the stage — drawing inspiration from artists like Nick Drake, Bruce Molsky, and Elliott Smith.
Omar Ruiz-Lopez is also a distinguished musician and educator currently based in Hillsborough, NC, with a remarkable command over multiple instruments, including violin, viola, guitar, and mandolin.
Since his time in Nashville, Omar has played and recorded with artists such as the GRAMMY-nominated band War and Treaty, Franklin Jonas, Lizzie No, Rebecca Newton, Harper Grace and Langhorne Slim, and cowritten with songwriters such as Rachel Baiman and GRAMMY-nominated Melody Walker (Sierra Ferrell, American Dreaming). He is currently working on an EP with Willa Frank (Paper Wings) and a full-length album with Rachel Baiman producing.
Born in Panama and raised in Puerto Rico, Omar’s early exposure to traditional Caribbean folk songs, courtesy of his father, laid the foundation for his deep appreciation for music. Spanish is his first language, and it remains an integral part of his cultural identity.
Together with Lizzy Ross, Omar co-founded the Americana group Violet Bell, where their collaboration seamlessly intertwines top-notch songwriting with a variety of musical landscapes. They won the IAMA Best Group/Duo award for their song “I Am A Wolf” in 2023.
https://www.omarruizlopez.com/
The ArtsCenter Gallery shows are (almost always) seated. We have a nice bar with wine, beer, cider, soft drinks, snacks and always free water. If you need special assistance, please do contact us at boxoffice@artscenterlive.org or 919.929.2787 and we’ll be sure to accommodate you as best as we can.