North Carolina duo, A Different Thread, are Starting Over Again with new album

Driving into the path of a solar eclipse, Alicia Best and Robert Jackson wrote “Over Again,” the title track of their third album, shaped by distance, resilience, and the long road to building a life together in the U.S.

Best (North Carolina) and Jackson (UK) met busking on the streets of Ireland and formed A Different Thread, spending the next decade touring internationally simply to stay together, while navigating visa barriers and long stretches apart. Many of the songs on Over Again were written during those years. This song won Best in Folk / Americana / Roots at the International Acoustic Music Awards.

Recorded between their home studio, Betty’s in North Carolina (Tyler Childers, Watchhouse), and Alma Vale Studio in the UK, the album blends British folk rock with North Carolina alt-country, pairing intimate storytelling with themes of Wanderlust, change, and starting again.

Across it’s eleven tracks, Over Again evokes bittersweet nostalgia, balancing intimate storytelling and social commentary, with charming harmonies, memorable hooks, and an underlying feeling of hope.

“For us, this album marks a new beginning, a chance to break old cycles as we finally arrive in America together have a home at last”

Tour Dates

North America
May 1 Chapel Hill, NC Local 506 *Album Release Show
May 2 Charlotte, NC Petra’s
May 3 Winston-Salem, NC Muddy Creek Listening Room
May 5 Flat Rock, NC Treska’s on the Lake
May 7 Elkin, NC The Reeves Theater
May 8 Asheville, NC Jack of the Wood
May 9 Honea Path, SC Fiddle and Bow Music Hall
May 12 Birmingham, AL Dobbers Five Points
May 13 New Orleans, LA Saturn Bar
May 14 Houston, TX Kojak’s
May 15 New Braunfels, TX UU Church of New Braunfels
May 17 Austin, TX Mozart’s
June 11 Arlington, TX House Concert
June 12 Oklahoma City, OK The Blue Door
June 16 Buffalo, MO The Old Home Place
June 18 Kansas City, MO Greenwood Social Hall
June 25 Chicago, IL Friendly Music Community
June 26 Cleveland, OH Dunlap’s
June 28 Pittsburgh, PA Acoustic Music Works
July 2 Mendon, NY Cottage Hotel at Mendon
July 10 Beacon, NY Lucky Dog Listening Room
July 11 New Paltz, NY Rail Trail Cafe
July 19 Morris, NY The Gate House
July 25 Turners Falls, MA The Rendezvous
July 26 Brattleboro, VT Hooker-Dunham Theater
July 31 Philadelphia, PA Abyssinia’s
Aug 1 Fairfax, VA Woodleigh Chase
Aug 7 Bynum, NC Bynum Front Porch
Aug 14 Wilkesboro, NC Key City Sessions
Aug 27 Brevard, NC 185 King Street
Aug 28 Winston-Salem, NC Gas Hill
Aug 29 Saxapahaw, NC Studio Sax
Sept 18 Pittsboro, NC Hoppin’ John Fiddlers Convention

Europe
Sep 26 San Sebastin, Spain Club44

United Kingdom
Oct 3 Scarborough, UK Old Parcels Office
Oct 4 Newcastle, UK The Cluny
Oct 6 Owston Ferry, UK
Oct 7 Sheffield, UK Cafe #9
Oct 8 Sheffield, UK Cafe #9
Oct 9 Hull, UK The New Adelphi
Oct 10 Nottingham, UK Framework Knitters Museum
Oct 12 Derby, UK Flower Pot
Oct 14 Manchester, UK Carlton Club
Oct 15 Worcester, UK Marrs Bar
Oct 16 Lichfield, UK The Hub at St. Mary’s
Oct 17 Hemel Hempstead, UK Fishery Wharf Cafe
Oct 18 Brighton, UK Folklore Rooms
Oct 20 Bath, UK The Bell Inn
Oct 23 London, UK Green Note
Oct 25 Frome, UK The Tree House
Oct 29 Birmingham, UK Kitchen Garden Cafe
Oct 30 Chester, UK Garden Social