In 1972, local pickers Jim Watson, Bill Hicks and Mike Craver joined with Tommy Thompson to form the Red Clay Ramblers, a brilliant acoustic quartet that bridged the old-time/bluegrass divide. Today, Watson, Hicks and Craver perform as the Original Red Clay Ramblers, with banjoist Joe Newberry taking over for Thompson, who died in 2003. The "O'blers" maintain the spirit and energy that graced such crowd-pleasing recordings as "Merchant's Lunch," "Twisted Laurel" and "Stolen Love" and their joyous off-Broadway romp in "Diamond Studs." On Sunday, the band fiddles, picks and sings tunes old and new at Southern Village in Chapel Hill (www.southernvillage.com).