Concert in your area for Indie & Alt, Folk & Blues, Country, Rock, and Funk & Soul.
Cary Ann Hearst was born in Mississippi and attended the College of Charleston in 1997. During school she began performing music as a solo artist in local bars and venues and realised her talents for folk music. After graduating she toured, recorded and performed with various groups including Caravan and Borrowed Angels. Hearst first saw Michael Trent performing with his band The Films in 2002 and they began touring with various artists including Jump and Little Children. To begin their careers they each recorded solo albums, Hearst released 'Dust & Bones' in 2006 and Trent released a self titled LP in 2007.
In 2008 Hearst and Trent decided to record as a duo and released the album 'Shovels & Rope' as a co-bill under their individual names but they didn't intend to work together permanently. Hearst and Trent married in March 2009 yet still continued to focus on their solo careers, releasing selected EPs and full lengths before committing to the duo in 2012. They released 'O' Be Joyful' under the name Shovels & Rope and it peaked at #123 on the Billboard 200. They performed the single 'Birmingham' on the Late Show with David Letterman in January 2013 and the Americana Music Honors & Awards awarded Shovels & Rope the accolades of emerging artist the year and song of the year for 'Birmingham'.
Following the new exposure and a heavy touring schedule where the couple play mixtures of original material and joint work, their 2014 album 'Swimmin' Time' went top twenty on the US Billboard charts.
Born Sean Scolnick in the city he would later take his stage name from, Langhorne Slim is the latest in a long line of artists that has fallen out of vogue in recent years. He is the kind of artist completely shaped by his time spent on the road. One can hear his music and feel that he would be riding the rails with Woody Guthrie if he came to prominence at the same time as the folk legend. He would be permanently stuffed in the back of a splitter van with Black Flag if he came to prominence in the 80’s. There might not be many like him around now but he’s definitely keeping that spirit alive, and we should be very grateful for that.
Slim moved to Brooklyn, New York when he was 18 years of age. However, as was his nature, he began moving around almost immediately, releasing an acclaimed album of demos and cutting his teeth live as the opening act for the Trachtenberg Family Slideshow Players. By 2004 he’d been signed to Narnack Records and recorded his first majorly released E.P “Electric Love Letter”. A full length album came next year in the form of “When The Sun Goes Down”, and by that point he’d progressed to touring with a full band and opening for the likes of Lucero and Murder By Death. 2006 saw his biggest move to date when he signed with the major label imprint V2 for one album and one E.P.
Ever since then, Slim has proved himself to be one of the most acclaimed artists of the unbelievably fertile American folk scene. No lesser name than Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed his 2012 effort “The Way We Move” as “damn near perfect” and he’s appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. More and more people are falling to Slim’s old school story-telling charms thanks to opening slots with The Avett Brothers, The Violent Femmes and The Lumineers. So, in the age of the sanitized, family-friendly singer songwriter, we need Langhorne Slim to be a name more than ever. By the looks of it, that’s exactly what he’ll be. Highly recommended.
The beginning of the set was pleasantly heavy on more of the bands better known songs. After opening up with "Keeper," the duo played a strand of tunes with no breaks, including two of the strongest tracks off the new record with "Bridge on Fire" and "The Devil is All Around."
The later of those tunes best shows off the incredible vocals of Hearst. While the pair mainly harmonize together on all songs, this is one where the female excels with propelling her voice past the appropriate background vocals of Trent. She really had the ability to captivate the room.
The second half of the show was much of the same, with the bands two most popular songs coming at the close of the set - debut self titled track "O' Be Joyful" and lead single "Birmingham." The crowd cheered on as the pair played a quick encore after departing the stage briefly.
Overall, it was a very strong show, especially for just two musicians being in the band. One recommendation I would make though is that the show was a bit long. I would estimate the group played close to, if not more than 20 songs, and I could tell towards the end that the crowd was getting a bit restless. So shorten the setlist a bit and keep the audience wanting more!
But good show for any folk / Americana fan.
Gasoline Lollipops always give a great performance. People can't help but to get up and dance. See them every Tuesday at Waterloo Louisville. Soon to be featured on KBCO too!
When you check out a Langhorne Slim show, expect to make friends... it's just that kind of crowd. I've walked away from shows over the years with GREAT new friends that are still part of my life today.
Langhorne Slim's music is SO energetic; I guess you could call it Americana or alt-country but there is definitely a punk and soul influence; Sean brings a passion to his songs that remind me of Otis Redding. I can't talk enough about the talent in the band; from Jeff on Bass to Malachi on drums. And David Moore deserves an entire paragraph for himself; he is bloody BEAST on the banjo!
My wish for the guys in LS is that they get as big as they wanna be; but until then, I cherish the fact that I get to see them in intimate venues, like the Grog Shop in Cleveland, and shake their hands after a show. I remember a show in Columbus, OH at the Blue Stone where Sean walked outside to the patio and sat down with our group and chatted us up for 20-minutes before he went on stage. It was such a cool thing for him to do!
One of the most memorable shows I've seen was in Nashville at the Mercy Lounge; they were touring with Ha Ha Tonka and you could tell the bands were having a blast. At one point both bands played together and it was just magical.
Go check out Langhorne Slim when they come through your town; and they WILL come through your town. These guys are road warriors! If my Mom and Conan O'Brien like 'em, so will you!