Larry & Joe feel like they were destined to make music together. Joe Troop says, “Appalachian music comes out of oak trees and blue jays and a lot of Venezuelan folk music comes out of mango trees and parrots. Nature and the natural world produce very different expressions, and forms of expression, but the things that the folk music genres have in common are being enveloped by the natural world.”

Troop, a Grammy-nominated bluegrass and oldtime musician, began playing with Larry Bellorin, a Venezuelan artist considered to be a legend of Llanera music, in December of 2021, when they met during an artist residency in North Carolina. The duo will play the Opera House at Boothbay Harbor on Saturday, Sept. 5, at 7:30 p.m.

They blend Venezuelan música llanera with Appalachian bluegrass—a fusion they call "Latingrass". Their shows are bilingual (English and Spanish) and combine virtuosic instrument-playing with humor, storytelling, dance, and discussions on how music intersects with social justice. Currently based in the Triangle of North Carolina, both men are versatile multi-instrumentalists and singer-songwriters on a mission to show that music has no borders.

Troop says, “Our music speaks to this larger community of people who are at the intersection of cultures. There are tens of millions of people in the United States who are between Latin American and North American identities, and when you travel around as a duo like ours, you come in contact with a lot of those people and it’s really cool.”

Bellorin says, “Our sound is unique because we are playing instruments that have never been played together. As the years have gone by, we’ve really landed on our own unique style. We’ve definitely got something very uniquely ours. We’re pioneers in bringing these rhythms together so that they might dance together.”

Troop adds, “Some of our original numbers are a fusion of a lot of our respective traditions all thrown together. You’ll definitely notice bluegrass and country, but you’ll also notice Cumbia, salsa, Mexican folk music, and a lot of bilingual compositions.”

An evening with Larry & Joe promises a journey to a thoroughly original place of musical intersection with two masterful artists and cultural ambassadors. To learn more about the duo, go to https://larryandjoe.com/.

Advance discounted tickets, $25, are available now, from the box office at 86 Townsend Ave., Boothbay Harbor open Wednesday-Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. or call 207-633-5159. Purchase tickets, $30, in advance at https://boothbayoperahouse.com and the night of the concert. Doors for seating open at 7 p.m. The bar will have cold drinks for sale, cash only.