The Dead South

Try not to step on the chalk outlines when navigating through prairie pickers The Dead South's catalogue. Over the course of two full-length albums, it's true that the villainous, murderous match-strikers and revenge-takers outnumber those with good intentions, but in the end, no heinous act goes unpunished.

The Dead South, a gold rush vibing four-piece acoustic bluegrass set from Saskatchewan, infuse the genre's traditional trappings with an air of frontier recklessness, whiskey breakfasts and grizzled tin-pan showmanship. The sound, build on a taut configuration of cello, mandolin, banjo and guitar, speeds like a train past polite definitions of bluegrass into the grittier, rowdier spaces of the traditional world.

Currently one of the hottest tickets on both sides of the Atlantic, The Dead South's rise to touring juggernaut status is in part a very modern music biz fairytale, an algorithm-breaking success story in a one hundred-million view youtube hit. The other factor, one simpler to see in terms of cause and effect, is their actual show - on stage they deliver, show after sold out show, a relentlessly great, high-energy frenzy that has resulted in nearly 50,000 tickets sold in 2018. The numbers are adding up for this Billboard charting, JUNO Award winning, Next Big Sound Trendsetting, Road Gold certified band. Through partnerships with ethical ticket resellers, The Dead South are helping fans fight back against shady secondary ticket markets, and have become, in their success, a model of fan-first artist citizenship.

The Dead South's original and current lineup includes the gnarled baritone of Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle on mandolin, whistling cellist Danny Kenyon and virtuosic banjo player Colton Crawford. The four-piece, acoustic string-driven approach puts the interplay of unique and versatile voices front and centre, with Hilts, Pringle and Kenyon all sharing lead vocal duties.

Since their 2016 release, The Dead South have maintained this formidable touring pace while also finding time to pop up in fitting and meaningful ways; the band contributed to the recent, star-studded bluegrass and Americana Roger Miller tribute album, Hilts has appeared in sparse and sweet duets with fellow prairie boy Colter Wall, and the band has taken the first steps towards a new album with a trip to Muscle Shoals. The Dead South are ready for 2019 with an impressive amount of fuel for the fire.

Portland-based folk rock band, The Builders and the Butchers, announce their forthcoming album, The Spark, due out May 19th. The band’s fifth LP will be released on Badman Recordings Co, which will be their third release with the label.

Their last album was hailed by Consequence of Sound, who said, “The Builders and the Butchers make records the way the bards used to pass on stories. They’re poetic and captivating, and do to songwriting what Clint Eastwood does to movies,” and this new record follows the same, narrative-driven path.

With glowing album and show reviews coming from Pitchfork and The Wall Street Journal, among others, their brand of folk-rock is best served live. Audiences can look forward to lively performances, where fourth wall is broken and the audience is able to participate in call and response sing-a-longs. Sometimes the band will hand out instruments for fans to play, and they’ll even get down off stage to perform right on the floor.

The Builders and The Butchers formed in 2005. Ryan Sollee fronts the band, sings and plays guitar, joined by Willy Kunkle (bass, guitar, vocals, percussion), Justin Baier (drums, backup vocals, percussion) and Harvey Tumbleson (mandolin, banjo, guitar, vocals, percussion). The Portland-based band gained a strong following after years of playing anywhere and everywhere across the city. They quickly grew to become one of the most exciting live bands in Portland and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

The band toured throughout the US and Europe from 2007-2012, playing music festivals, such as Sasquatch and Lollapalooza, and acting as support for Portugal. The Man, Heartless Bastards, Amanda Palmer and Murder By Death. To support their forthcoming release, The Spark, the band will be playing their first US and European tour in multiple years.

This new album features a wider array of sounds and shorter, hard hitting songs, while remaining a Builders’ record at heart. The process of creating The Spark was the longest of any Builders’ record to date. They spent the last five years writing the music and a year mixing. With several band members living out of state (Justin in Colorado, Willy in Malta, Harvey in Washington and Ryan and Ray in Portland), many parts were recorded remotely. Drums and much of the electric guitar were recorded at Revolver Studios and the rest was laid down piece-by-piece and mixed by Edgar McCrae at his home studio. Influences for the record range from Tom Waits to The White Stripes.