THE DEAD SOUTH TO END THE YEAR WITH A TWANG
Hardworking bluegrass and folk band winds up 2017 with a sold-out hometown bash
The Dead South, one of Regina’s most successful up-and-coming acts, will usher in the new year with their explosive combination of bluegrass and classic folk.
The Dead South are playing Casino Regina Show Lounge with Blake Berglund, Belle Plaine and special guests on Dec. 31. Since racking up tens of millions of views for their videos on social media over the past year, the four-piece band has become something of a global bluegrass and folk sensation.
The current Death South lineup consists of Nate Hilts (vocals, guitar), Scott Pringle (guitar, mandolin, vocals), Eliza Doyle ( banjo, kick drum), and Danny Kenyon (cello,
vocals). They are recognizable by their outfits which are true to the early days of southern bluegrass.
Despite the resulting international tours and sold-out shows, Hilts said the “rock star” lifestyle is more humbling than one might expect. During a phone interview on his way to British Columbia for a snowboarding getaway, the singer said his friends and family still give him a healthy ribbing.
“They still talk down to me about it,” he laughed. “I don’t even know what (making it) means. There are moments when you’re in a room full of 1,600 people screaming and cheering, and it’s a really cool, interesting experience, but we still drive around in a van and don’t get much sleep.
“It’s not a glorious road life. In many ways, we have made it because we never thought we’d make it out of the basement.”
Those early basement days started in 2012 with former bandmate Colton Crawford, Hilts and some roommates being inspired by the group Trampled By Turtles.
“We listened to a lot of them,” Hilts said. “That kind of got me and Colton thinking.”
They tried out the bluegrass style, even though most of The Dead South members come from metal and punk backgrounds. That quirk would eventually lead to their signature sound, which combines story-infused melodies with fast finger picking.
“Colton was a metal guitar player before he picked up the banjo. That worked really well for him. The first riff he ever wrote was for Banjo Odyssey (off the Good Company album).”
Just don’t say The Dead South sound like Mumford and Sons.
“That always bothers us,” Hilts said about the comparison. “We don’t sound anything alike, really. We have some of the same instruments, but that’s it … When they call us evil twins, that’s a little better.”
The group’s success is relatively recent, so while there is some pressure to put out new content, Hilts said many of their new fans are still discovering older work. This includes three albums, with the latest being 2016’s Illusion & Doubt. Still, he hinted at new music videos on the way, a possible live album, and an entirely new record that “still needs to be figured out.”
In the meantime, The Dead South are set to end their stellar year with a Regina bash.
“We’re really looking forward to playing to the hometown,” Hilts said.
It appears their fans are also looking forward to the date as the show sold out weeks ago.