The Dead South

I just recently discovered The Dead South, though they’ve been around more than a decade. They are what I guess qualifies as a bluegrass band, featuring banjo, mandolin, guitar, and cello (often played as a bass).

I can safely say I’ve never heard anything like them before. The uniqueness of their sound blew me away when I first discovered it.

They are such a strange blend of moody, but usually upbeat, music and dark lyrics and subject matter. Lots of crime, bad deeds, and death float around their songs, but they are delivered with such rare, haunting, and toe-tapping musical glee and by a lead singer with a voice like “broken glass in honey” — as one YouTube commenter aptly described it – that it’s impossible not to fall under their spell.

Check them out:

“In Hell I’ll Be in Good Company” was my introduction to them: https://youtu.be/B9FzVhw8_bY

YouTube also has two full live sets of them, both of which are excellent:

The House of Blues in Boston: https://youtu.be/bTpTgBudECU

Red Rocks Music Festival: https://youtu.be/Mqb3tMhiuIQ