Nearing the end of their USA spring tour, The Dead South rolled through St. Louis, stopping at The Pageant Saturday night. “We’re revved up,” said Nate Hilts, lead vocalist, guitarist, and mandolinist.
The Dead South is not your grandparents’ folk or bluegrass band. Or maybe it would be after a few jugs of moonshine in their bellies and the empty jug tossed on a fire. The Canadian band from Regina located at the western edge of the plains of Saskatchewan (driving through the Kansas plains is a mere blip compared to driving through Saskatchewan’s) took these two genres bundled them up, tossed them in the fiery pit, waited for the moonshine dregs to explode, and crafted some boot stomping, gritty, ashy, tunes.
And in concert, the quartet that uses a mandolin, banjo, cello, and guitars to support their vocals takes their music to the next level. A beautifully crafted, deep set staging brought the aesthetic that they stood amid an old western town, dressed the part, with dust rising off the dirt road (from all that boot stompin’) and lights filtering through the windows of the buildings.
The captivating, raw, bare bones, dark “Yours to Keep” with Danny Kenyon on vocals was a standout of this 90-minute set. Hilts paused at one moment and asked the crowd to cheer for the new songs even if they weren’t as familiar as it “makes us feel good,” before launching into the harmonious, dark ballad “Father John.” They expertly interspersed a few livelier tunes such as “Time for Crawlin’” in between their newer material. This rollickin’ good-time night came to a close with the oft-performed “Honey You.”
Sunny War, who was recently here in September at Evolution Festival, opened the night with 40 minutes of her blend of gospel, rock, and folk-punk music. The guitarist/vocalist from Tennessee was flanked by her collaborator Alan Eckert on drums, who, at one point, said, “This city is amazing. We love it here.” He also mentioned their lunch of shrimp and grits at Broadway Oyster Bar. Of the soulful “Big Baby,” War shared that the song was about her guitar that she “got from a creepy man off of Craigslist.” War included the powerful, delta-toned “Got No Ride.”
To recap, hell yes, The Dead South are not to be missed in concert. Didn’t see them? Be sure to the next time they roll through a city near you.
See all the exclusive photos from the night here https://bit.ly/DeadSouth25cz
