Beloved bagel shop to host mini music session

If you’re a fan of fresh bagels and Americana music that pulls at the soul, you’ll want to “schmear” this: Macon Bagels is hosting North Carolina-based music duo Chatham Rabbits for an acoustic listening session Monday, Feb. 9 at 6:30 p.m.

Sarah and Austin McCombie, the couple behind Chatham Rabbits, are on tour for their fourth album, “Be Real With Me,” released in 2025. 

Patrick Rademaker, who co-owns Macon Bagels with Lauren Bone, said Chatham Rabbits creates the “kind of music I grew up with,” describing the Southern Americana band as Bluegrass and Appalachian with touches of country. 

The nostalgic sound brings balance to Rademaker’s world — for a moment, the bagels stop spinning. 

“The shop runs, and it feels like the world’s at an 11, and the music is a little bit frantic at times,” he said. “Then the shop closes and I turn on something a little calmer and let my heart rate drop.”

The collaboration with Macon Bagels came about from a chance encounter at the beloved downtown shop, Rademarker said.

It’s not unusual for Bragg Jam performers to stop by for a bite to eat, he said. Following recommendations from many of the folks at the band’s evening performance, Sarah walked in and Rademaker — a listener himself — made sure to play Chatham Rabbits music in the shop. 

Two worlds collided in a bagel-meets-band moment, which Rademaker described as “the snowball effect of it turning into something much more exciting, fun and community driven.”

Chatham Rabbits — a name they chose in reference to the wild rabbits in Chatham County, North Carolina —  later reached out and offered to stop by for a performance while touring through Georgia.

It’s not unusual for the band — “a turnkey operation” —  to perform in unconventional spaces, Sarah said. In the past, they’ve turned libraries, historical museums and even a pottery factory into a musical stage for the evening.

“This is a really big band that’s very popular, that tours the country, and we’re just a little bagel shop that they’re gonna play at. So it feels like we jumped the shark a little,” Rademaker said. 

His team at Macon Bagels will be serving Carolina slaw dogs for the listening session in honor of the band’s North Carolina roots.

Though not Peach State natives, Sarah recalled being in awe of Macon’s deep music history when the Chatham Rabbits first performed at Capricorn Records during last year’s Bragg Jam.

“Getting to bounce around and see all these different venues where lots of different types of Southern American music are made — it was really, really cool that there was such a concentration of that in one area,” she said.

Tickets for the 50-seat show for all ages can be purchased online.