Sometimes you’re forced to ponder on the number of brilliant acts slogging away on the live circuit year after year for scant reward and then there are those odd occasions when, seemingly out of nowhere, a band or artist is elevated to giddy heights without you even appearing to notice. Such is the case with The Dead South, who are about to commence a tour of the UK, including venues of the size of Brixton Academy, with two of their UK tour dates already sold out.
The West Canadians’ blend of folk-bluegrass and punk rock attitude has sometimes jokingly been referred to as “Mumford and Sons’ Evil Twins”, for the twisted lyrics in their songs that often depict violence and gruesome deaths. The band was originally formed in 2012 but it was in 2017 that they were catapulted to fame by the viral success of their song ‘In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company’, the video for which was produced by Orion Paradis at SoulSound studio – in the process credited as responsible for the breakthrough release for the band. Pushing a near staggering 168 million views at the last count, ‘In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company’ is a particularly catchy song, but it’s the video that really caused the tune to catch fire. It demonstrates the virtue of simplicity with the band doing the same dance steps while singing the song in multiple locations. The video took a total of four months to shoot, then a number of additional months to edit, so that it actually ended up coming out after their second album, ‘Illusion & Doubt’ was released. Given momentum through social media, Reddit eventually picked up the video, then a website and blog called MusicCrowns took it as a featured video which caused a further spike in its popularity.
What shouldn’t also be underestimated, though, is the extent to which The Dead South have enhanced their popularity through a relentless gigging schedule that has seen them become one of the hardest working acts on the road, so much so that they’re now one of the hottest tickets on both side of the Atlantic, with prominent appearances at festivals such as Glastonbury last summer and iconic venue such as the Red Rocks amphitheatre. Now they’re about to set out on a tour of Europe to help promote their new album ‘Sugar & Joy’.
The Dead South perform at the following nine dates in February before they return later this summer as one of the principal acts to appear at the Black Deer Festival in Eridge Park, Kent.
The Dead South UK Tour Dates
WED FEB 19 – Ulster Hall, Belfast
FRI FEB 21 – O2 Academy, Glasgow
SAT 22 FEB – O2 Academy, Newcastle
SUN 23 FEB – Manchester Academy
TUE 25 FEB – O2 Academy Birmingham
WED 26 FEB – Guildhall, Portsmouth
THU 27 FEB – O2 Academy, Brixton, London
FRI 28 FEB – Rock City, Nottingham (SOLD OUT)
SAT 29 FEB – The Great Hall, Exeter (SOLD OUT)
The Dead South’s ‘Sugar & Joy’ is out now on Six Shooter Records.
Can I see the Radio City Tower (St.Johns Beacon) in one of the backgrounds for the video of In Hell I’ll be in Good cCompany?