The south rose again thanks to The Dead South’s world tour

The winds and the rains came tearing out of the north, down through the suburbs of St. Louis, MO on July 12th, and they brought the dead with them… The Dead South, that is. Playing to a packed house at The Factory, the four-piece folk/bluegrass ensemble from our neighboring country to the north gave everyone in attendance the night they were hoping for, minus the one guy who got thrown out by security for jumping the barricade. It was the perfect music for the weather outside and made being inside the venue that much more pleasant.

Supporting the night was fellow Canadian and well-recognized country music singer/songwriter, Corb Lund. Now, just for clarification, typically I’m not much of a country music person. It’s just not my preferred genre to listen to. But I have to admit, watching Corb Lund was enjoyable. His presence on stage, along with his character of a bass player – who was killing that upright bass – was half the fun of the whole night.

You can tell that he has been around the block for a while and knows how to entertain a crowd.

His music was fun, upbeat, and relatable, and I mean, what more can you ask for? Even if it’s not your favorite type of music in the world, if you can find a way to keep people engaged and having fun, they’ll be fans for life.

Headlining the evening was Canada’s own The Dead South. I had only recently discovered this band not too long ago, and after last night, I will definitely be following their career more closely. These are four extremely talented and skilled bluegrass musicians who embrace the brand and attitude like no other, while also flipping the whole brand on its head at the same time. As their website states, “A rock band without a drummer, a bluegrass band without a fiddler. To the gentlemen of the Dead South…it’s about how, not what, you play. Their sound…speeds like a train past polite definitions of acoustic music into the grittier, rowdier spaces of the bluegrass world.” There isn’t anything to hide behind with this music. There is very little room for error.

It is what it is, which is what separates The Dead South from others like them.

It almost feels like they embrace the risk of it all, and that just makes it seem so much more real to me. It doesn’t hurt that they do a killer bluegrass rendition of one of my all-time favorite songs, “96 Quite Bitter Beings” by CKY. Overall, it was a very enjoyable night, and I encourage anyone to get out and see The Dead South live if you have the chance; it’s not a night you will regret. Europe, get ready! The tour is heading your way! Be sure prep by listening to Easy Listening for Jerks, pt. 1 & 2, available everywhere now.

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