Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs

Bio

The brainchild of a prog-rock guitarist and a classically-trained composer/singer, folk fusion duo Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs formed in 2016 shortly after the founding members, Kendra and Zack Harding, tied the knot. Fans have described their music as “effortlessly complex” and blues legend Henry Turner Jr. calls it “funky mountain music.” Blending traditional with trippy, the two have played throughout the US and internationally, including slots at the Anchorage Folk Festival, Confluence Carolinas, Tucson Folk Festival, Mill Farm Music (UK), Rockwood Music Hall, Piedmont Folkways, and more.

In 2024, the Bugs were the winners of the Mallarme Dynamic Duos contest, and in 2025 Kendra was the recipient of a North Carolina Arts Council Artist Support Grant, a merit-based award for full-time creatives. Showing no signs of slowing down, their plans for 2026 included the release of a live album in the first quarter, a US and Central America tour in the summer. A new studio album release is set for spring 2027.

While Brown Mountain Lightning Bugs know that only tacos and pets can make everyone happy, they aim to create a concoction of sounds that gets a lot of toes tapping and heads bobbing, and maybe make a few friends along the way. When not performing, the two can be found hiking the foothills and mountains of North Carolina with their growing menagerie of dogs and cat (just one… for now).