Holcombe played in local bands like The Hilltoppers and Redwing, and collaborated with other songwriters like Ray Sisk, Sam Milner, and Dallas Taylor.
Throughout the 2000's and up to 2022, Malcolm Holcombe would record for independent labels and released well-regarded albums. This whole time, his cult status as a songwriter only grew.
His voice went from weathered to sounding like death itself gasping through broken teeth, but conveyed an infinite beauty all its own.
Frustrated by his experience in Nashville, he would eventually return to North Carolina, and though touring occasionally across the United States, he became synonymous with the state as one of the true representatives of the North Carolina sound.
Like many of the best musicians, Malcolm Holcombe could be his own worst enemy. Sweet when sober, erratic when drunk, this is what doomed his career at multiple turns.