Watchhouse (formerly Mandolin Orange) is an Americana/folk duo based in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The group was formed in 2009 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina and consists of songwriter Andrew Marlin (vocals, mandolin, guitar, banjo) and Emily Frantz (vocals, violin, guitar), who are married to each other. Watchhouse has produced nine albums of Marlin's original works of American roots music.

They signed to Yep Roc Records in 2013 and have produced five albums under their umbrella, This Side of Jordan, Such Jubilee, Blindfaller, Tides of a Teardrop, and Austin City Limits Live at the Moody Theater. Marlin recorded an instrumental album, Buried In a Cape, under his own name in 2018. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Marlin recorded his second and third instrumental albums without Frantz, Witching Hour and Fable & Fire.

The group has toured throughout the U.S and Europe, including appearances at Austin City Limits, South by Southwest, Edmonton Folk Music Festival, Telluride Bluegrass Festival, Newport Folk Festival, Philadelphia Folk Festival, Pickathon, Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Rooster Walk, MerleFest, and the Omagh Bluegrass Festival. Watchhouse was the featured artist on CBS This Morning's Saturday Morning Sessions on December 7, 2019.

In April 2021, the band announced that moving forward, they would change the group's name from Mandolin Orange to Watchhouse. Of the change, Marlin said "Mandolin Orange was born out of my 21-year-old mind. The name isn't what I strive for when I write" and that Watchhouse is a name that reflects their "true intentions" as a band. Later, in July the band was part of the Newport Folk Festival.

Discography

Albums

TitleEraAlbum detailsPeak chart positionsSales
USUS CountryUS FolkUS HeatUS Rock
Quiet Little RoomMandolin OrangeRelease date: April 10, 2010 Label: Mandolin Orange
Haste Make / Hard Hearted StrangerRelease date: November 8, 2011 Label: Mandolin Orange LLC
This Side of JordanRelease date: August 20, 2013 Label: Yep Roc Records
Such JubileeRelease date: May 5, 2015 Label: Yep Roc Records1721
BlindfallerRelease date: September 30, 2016 Label: Yep Roc Records16742
Tides of a TeardropRelease date: February 1, 2019 Label: Yep Roc Records164132131US: 7,500
WatchhouseWatchhouseRelease date: August 13, 2021 Label: Tiptoe Tiger Music
Austin City Limits Live at the Moody TheaterRelease date: January 12, 2024 Label: Yep Roc Records
RitualsRelease date: May 30, 2025 Label: Tiptoe Tiger Music/Thirty Tigers
"—" denotes releases that did not chart

External links