The Weeping Willows – photo Jim Jacob
The Weeping Willows New Album
Before Darkness Comes A- Callin’
National Tour
Melbourne alt. country duo The Weeping Willows are poised to deliver an enticing new album, due March 4 2016, entitled Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’. Coinciding with the new record, The Willows will head off on an extensive national tour from March to May (see dates below).
The Weeping Willows are Andy Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates and Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’ will be the pair’s second release, with ten tracks reportedly filled with dark cautionary tales. It is a follow-up to Till The North Wind Blows (2012), but this time they have traveled to L.A. to record and hook up with Grammy Award winning engineer Ryan Freeland (Justin Townes Earle, Bonnie Raitt, Joe Henry, The Milk Carton Kids, Aimee Mann) at Stampede Origin Studios.
Adding to the mix are some of alt. country-Americana’s seasoned players: Kevin Breit (Rosanne Cash) on banjo, David Piltch (Billy Bragg) on upright bass, Tommy Detamore (Ray Price) on pedal steel, Luke Moller (Kasey Chambers) on fiddle and mandolin, and guest vocals from excellent Melbourne duo Sweet Jean.
The lead single will be “River of Gold”, which according to the duo is ‘a song of desire that is at once destructive and irresistible, of surrendering to fate, driven inexorably onward by urgent backwoods banjo’. Have a listen:
The Weeping Willows have been tireless travelers in recent years, gracing the stages of the Tamworth Country Music Festival, Cygnet Folk Festival, Newport Folk Festival, JamGrass and Mountain Grass. The pair also has performed at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville in 2013 and 2014, and in 2015 supported Iris DeMent and Shane Nicholson.
I have seen the pair perform quite a few times over the past two years, always enjoyable, with their sweet harmonies, Andy’s masterful guitar work and interesting material. I have heard a few of the new songs live and, given the background to the new album, am eager to get my hands on a copy.
THE WEEPING WILLOWS
TOUR DATES
Friday 4th March: Basement Discs, Melbourne VIC
Saturday 5th – Sunday 6th March: Snowy Mountains Country Music Festival NSW
Thursday 10th March: Royal Oak Hotel, Launceston with Ange Boxall TAS
Friday 11th March: Spring Vale Wines, Cranbrook with Ange Boxall TAS
Saturday 12th March: Republic Bar & Café, Hobart with Ange Boxall TAS
Sunday 13th March: The Pizza and Wine Club, Kyneton with Ange Boxall VIC
Monday 14th March: House Concert, Ferntree Gully with Shane Nicholson VIC
Friday 18th March: Babushka Bar, Ballarat with Mitch Power VIC
Saturday 19th March – Sunday 20th March: The Basin Music Festival, The Basin VIC
Friday 25th March: Billyroy’s Blues Bar, Bendigo VIC
Sunday 27th March: T’Gallant Winery, Main Ridge VIC
Friday 1st April: Harmonie German Club’s ‘Friday Night Live’, Canberra ACT
Saturday 2nd April: Django Bar, Marrickville NSW
Monday 4th April: Jane’s, Wollongong NSW
Sunday 17th April: Caravan Music Club, Oakleigh with Bill Chambers VIC
Sunday 24th April: T’Gallant Winery, Main Ridge VIC
Friday 29th April – Sunday 1st May: Mount Beauty Music Festival, Mount Beauty VIC
Friday 6th May: The Singing Gallery, McLaren Vale with Andy & Marta SA
Sunday 8th May: The Wheatsheaf Hotel, Thebarton with Andy & Marta SA
Friday 20th May: Bendigo Folk Club, Bendigo VIC
Friday 17th June: Berwick & District Folk Club, Berwick VIC
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Before Darkness Comes A-Callin’ – Out March 4 2016
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