ROLLINSVILLE -- The man now known as Chicken Coop Willaye moved from his home state of North Carolina to Atlanta, Georgia, after graduating from Appalachian State University in Boone. During the decade he lived in Atlanta, he was known as Washboard Willaye.
In Atlanta, Willaye met local legends who gathered for performances in Northside Tavern, eventually sitting in with Danny “Mudcat” Dudeck on his Wednesday night performances there. Playing piedmont and country blues, Willaye earned his nickname from the instrument he learned to play there – the washboard.
On Tuesday nights there, Donnie “Mac” McCormick performed his primary instrument at Northside. He discovered this primary instrument in the early 70s, during a jam session at “The Farm,” a property in Juliette, Georgia, owned by the Allman Brothers.
During the session, Mac ran out of objects to drum on, but somebody from the group handed him another object: a chicken coop. The rest, as they say, is history, and Mac continued playing the chicken coop until his death in 2009.
Performing with Mac, Willaye found himself inspired, and in a similar turn of events, he found a chicken coop in the barn of an antique store in North Georgia. That day, Chicken Coop Willaye was born.
Turning a chicken coop on its side allows Willaye to use the plywood bottom as a bass drum, the wired top and opening as a snare, and hanging cowbells as a makeshift high hat.
Willaye now performs both washboard and coop as the leader of a full group, simply known as the Chicken Coop Willaye Band. He also serves as the historian and “teller of tall tales” for the group.
Also in the lineup are Jake Livingston playing guitar and tenor banjo; Brian Hanesian playing resonator, fiddle, mountain-style banjo picking, and harmonica; Alec Dalsin playing mandolin, 5-string banjo, and kazoo; and all three providing vocals.
The group has started writing original songs, both individually and as a group, and performing them in their shows. They will bring material into the studio in late 2025 and work with producer Erik Satie of Emotional Logic Productions for the final tracks.
Willaye says that the band has primarily focused on the kind of traditional material that Doc Watson and Jerry Garcia might play. He considers their tunes Appalachian-influenced, adjacent to old-time bluegrass, ragtime, Americana, and roots.
Willaye says that roots connects with a wide audience because even if someone doesn’t know a specific song, they pick up on elements of the song that feel familiar, personally resonant, and musically foundational. He loves being able to perform with a group, and he hopes crowds leave “with a smile on their face and a story to tell.”
Chicken Coop Willaye will be performing at Howlin’ Wind Brewing and Blending, located at 51 A Main Street in Rollinsville, on Saturday, August 16, 2025, starting at 5 p.m. To learn more about the band, head to their website at chickencoopwillaye.com.
