Over the past six years, The Dead South has become something of a phenomenon within and beyond the Bluegrass realm by melding their traditional foundation with the passion and energy of an Indie Rock band.
The Saskatchewan, Canada quartet — described in press materials as "a rock band without a drummer, a bluegrass band without a fiddler" — features guitarist/vocalist Nate Hilts, whose gravelly baritone sets the mood for most of the band's songs, banjoist Colton Crawford, a Metal guitarist who switched to banjo after hearing Steve Martin, mandolinist/vocalist Scott Pringle and cellist/vocalist Danny Kenyon, who plays his instrument strapped on like Paul McCartney's Hoffner bass on steroids. The band lit up the internet with over 160 million views of their music video for “In Hell I'll Be in Good Company” from 2014's Good Company. Last year, The Dead South adrenalized UK fans with an incendiary set at the Glastonbury music festival, a feat that American followers experienced at Colorado's renowned Red Rocks Amphitheatre two weeks earlier.
From the outset, The Dead South has offered more than Bluegrass' standard operating procedure. Their 2013 debut EP, The Ocean Went Mad and We Were to Blame, showed a band that could go from playful to menacing at the drop of a fingerpick, and their full-length debut the following year, Good Company, cemented their burgeoning reputation as a group that was a cut above paint-by-numbers traditionalism. The band's Juno win for 2016's Illusion & Doubt was clear evidence of their increasing popularity in the provinces and their recent third album, Sugar & Joy, was met with almost universal acclaim upon its release last fall.
Sugar & Joy shows The Dead South's impressive range, from the banjo-less “Crawdaddy Served Cold,” written by Hilts just after Crawford quit the band for nearly two years due to chronic insomnia, to the Ennio Morricone-flavored “Spaghetti,” which, like the album as a whole, showcases the quartet's estimable songwriting skills as well as their impeccable musicianship.
Given the arc of their six-plus year history, it's scary to think that The Dead South has yet to come close to reaching their peak.
The Dead South plays Bogart's on Tuesday, Jan. 14. Tickets/more show info: bogarts.com.
