Twice As Nice

Emily Frantz always worried about how her band Mandolin Orange sounded on stage when it was just her and musical partner Andrew Marlin. In the studio, and sometimes on the road, other artists join in to add touches of electric guitar and drums to the duo's rustic, acoustic sound.

But a year of nonstop touring either made her a better player or more confident in her band's abilities. Or maybe both. Because every once in a while, a fan at a tour stop will tell the duo they sound just like they do on the album, a bit of a surprise considering the stripped-down approach.

But Mandolin Orange always has the same emotion and feeling, so maybe there isn't such a difference after all, Frantz says by phone from Asheville, N.C., where she and Marlin are working on a set of new songs. Progress on the album will take a brief hiatus while the band goes on a tour that began Thursday with a gig in Michigan and continues today with a show on the Bentonville square. The local show is part of the three-day Slaughter Pen Jam Festival, which combines music on the square and mountain biking on the nearby Slaughter Pen Hollow trail system.

That the songs sound so similar whether live or in the studio is even more of a feat considering the band members often change instruments between the two settings. The writing process may start one way, then they'll jam on it in another. Marlin plays guitar and mandolin in addition to providing vocals. Frantz adds guitar or fiddle and her own vocals to the process, so there's a lot of combinations to choose from.

"We've just gotten so comfortable playing together. ... We're both in it 100 percent, and you need that," Frantz says.

Today's show will be Mandolin Orange's Arkansas debut.

--Kevin Kinder

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