A Family Affair: Drew and Ellie Holcomb at the Birchmere

Drew and Ellie Holcomb are back after a brief hiatus, and they’ll be performing at the Birchmere for a special residency March 30 through April 1.

Music has always been a family affair for Drew and Ellie Holcomb. The couple, who met in 2005 and married the following year, have spent nearly 20 years performing together, as solo artists and with various side projects. As their family grew, Ellie spent more time at home, focusing on her children and writing, recording and touring her solo material. 

With their current tour, An Evening with Drew & Ellie Holcomb: The Residency Tour, the Holcomb’s will reside at the Birchmere from March 30 through April 1. And they have the added adventure of having their three kids on the road with them.

“All of a sudden our kids got a little bit older,” Drew Holcomb tells District Fray. “Old enough to be on a bus with us and be fun and not totally chaotic. Still chaotic, but not completely chaotic. I think we really wanted them to see us play music together. So that was one reason. The second was that we really missed playing music together because it had been six years.”

The couple chose all the locations for the Residency Tour.

“It wasn’t necessarily about the cities,” Holcomb says. “It was about the rooms. So we wanted to pick really great or smaller singer-songwriter rooms where we knew the show would translate well, just the two of us.”

In addition to the tour, Holcomb has a very busy few months ahead. Drew Holcomb & the Neighbors will be releasing a new album, “Strangers No More,” on June 7 and they’ll be the opening act for Darius Rucker on his upcoming tour. Additionally, they’ll be playing festivals including Bonnaroo, Bourbon & Beyond and Holcomb’s own Moon River festival, which will take place in Chattanooga, Tennessee September 9 and 10.

The fifth iteration of the festival, which will feature Hozier, Judah and the Lion, Nickel Creek and Caamp has already sold out. Curated by Holcomb and his team, Holcomb has an idea why the festival is so popular.

“I think one of the reasons people love it so much is it’s very artist friendly and it’s very fan-friendly,” he says. “Most festivals, you’re having to choose between four stages and you’re always going to miss part of what you paid for because there’s not enough time to see everything. Whereas we have two stages and so one happens and then when they’re done, the next one goes. So you can run back and forth and see every single act on the bill if you wanted to.”

Drew & Ellie Holcomb will play the Birchmere from March 30 to April 1 at 7:30 p.m. each night. Tickets are $49.50. Learn more about their music at drewholcomb.com and ellieholcomb.com. 

Birchmere: 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Alexandria, VA; birchmere.com // @drewholcombmusic

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Christina Smart