originally published: 04/23/2025
(RED BANK, NJ) -- Carbon Leaf is touring in support of Time is the Playground, the band's 15th studio album. Their tour comes to The Vogel on Wednesday, May 14, 2025. Special guest Zak Loy will open the night. Showtime is 7:00pm.
Time is the Playground is both a call to action and an embrace of the moment. Marrying nostalgic storytelling to nuanced, folk-infused indie rock, the Richmond, Virginia band embroiders heartfelt melody and harmony with acoustic and electric instrumentation to create a 12-song rumination on time, love and personal growth that’s equal parts urgent epiphany and contented exhalation.
“Everybody says people don’t listen to albums anymore,” mulled Carbon Leaf frontman Barry Privett, holed up in a coastal cottage. “So, the challenge for us was to make something that felt good to get through from beginning to end … to listen to like a story.”
Tickets range from $25-$40 (plus fees) and are available for purchase online. The Vogel is located at 99 Monmouth Street in Red Bank, New Jersey.
Originally formed as a college cover band in 1992 and with over 3,500 famously enthused live shows together, Carbon Leaf helped to define the aughts indie rock that they ultimately outgrew and outlasted. They first earned national recognition with “The Boxer,” a song that won the American Music Awards 2002 New Music Award and made Carbon Leaf the first unsigned band to perform before millions on the AMAs.
“The Boxer” entered regular radio rotation, Carbon Leaf’s tours grew bigger and better, and within a couple of years they quit their day jobs and inked a record deal. The band’s fanbase snowballed, drawn to their infectious spirit of commitment, empathy, communion, and self-reliance – not to mention supremely crafted songs with ultra-relatable, thought-provoking lyrics.
After a trio of charting albums for Vanguard Records, multiple songwriting awards and headlining shows, Carbon Leaf opted to return to the complete creative control of their indie roots. Guitarist Terry Clark, who co-founded the band with Privett and multi-instrumentalist Carter Gravatt, converted his garage into the band’s Two-Car Studio, where they’ve recorded releases for their own Constant Ivy imprint ever since. Carbon Leaf’s DIY spirit even extended to re-recording their three Vanguard albums in order to regain the rights.
Over 25 years in the music business as a guitarist, songwriter, collaborator and producer Zak Loy is releasing his first solo record called “Dinero”. Zak had his first national success with the band “ALPHA REV” after releasing albums on Hollywood Records and Kirtland Records, achieving 2 top 10 Triple A radio singles with “New Morning” and “Sing Loud”. In 2013, Zak became the lead guitarist, sideman collaborator for the Lead Singer of the band +LīVE+ – ED Kowalczyk, Zak has worked closely with Ed ever since, joining +LīVE+ in 2016 for the “reunion years” and as of 2022 Zak became the Lead Guitarist, co-writer, music director and
Producer of +LīVE+.
Zak Loy’s first solo venture leans heavily on a singer songwriter approach taking inspiration from his life growing up in Texas, his experience traveling the world as a musician with a family at home and working in the music business.
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