Justin Robinson and The Mary Annettes

If you're not a professional touring musician, the idea of being one probably sounds almost exclusively romantic—traveling, meeting new people, enjoying the adulation of fans. But it's also a rootless existence, filled with tedium and often precluding financial or familial security.

On the surface, it seemed puzzling when violinist Justin Robinson, one of the founding members of the acclaimed Durham-based string band Carolina Chocolate Drops, announced his departure from the group in early February, especially considering the announcement occurred mere days before the trio traveled to Los Angeles as nominees (and eventual winners) of a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Folk Album for their 2010 effort, Genuine Negro Jig. However, when you listen to Robinson speak of the grind of touring and his desire to attend graduate school (to pursue a degree in conservation ecology), his desire to extricate himself from that demanding lifestyle and follow a different path makes perfect sense.

Robinson hasn't given up music altogether by any stretch. He's put together a new band, Justin Robinson and the Mary Annettes, that finds him performing original material (the Drops played mostly traditional folk compositions) while adhering to a far more relaxed performance schedule.

"This is really a side thing, just for fun, and right now we're only planning on doing about two shows per month," says Robinson. "Other people in the band have career and family obligations, too."

Robinson and his compatriots (banjo player Kyra Moore, violinist Sally Mullikin and drummer Josh Stohl) are working on releasing their first full-length album and have already put out an EP, Precious Blood. The four folk-based songs on the EP showcase a dark, irreverent lyricism, as well as art-rock and hip-hop touches far removed from Carolina Chocolate Drops' milieu. All told, the tunes suggest that Robinson, however much or little he decides to prioritize music-making, remains an artist worth following. —Josh Love