The Handsome Family
plus Danny George Wilson
Gothic. Americana. Husband and wife dynamic duo.
The Handsome Family are going back on the road to celebrate the re-release of their classic album Singing Bones. Released in 2003 after moving to Albuquerque, New Mexico, their songs became infused with the desert sun and crawling reptiles. Mariachi and Morricone – Western Gothic, if you will.
The Handsome Family (songwriting and marriage partners Brett and Rennie Sparks) have been defining the dark end of Americana for over 30 years. Brett writes the music and Rennie writes the words. Their work has been covered by many artists including Jeff Tweedy, Andrew Bird and Phoebe Bridgers.
Their song ‘Far From Any Road’ was the opening theme for HBO’s True Detective season one. Since its release, ‘Far From Any Road’ has accumulated more than 45m YouTube views and 153m Spotify streams, a clear testimony to its huge cultural reach and lasting impact.
Need to know
Venue: Sage Two Theatre Layout
Price: £30.10
Stage Times: Announced nearer showtime.
Age: Under 14s must be accompanied by an adult.
What reviews have said
“Singing Bones is a masterpiece of modern American Gothic”
The Independent
★★★★
“haunting, primal and strangely heroic”
The Times
★★★★
plus Danny George Wilson
Danny George Wilson returned to Hamish Benjamin’s studio in East Sussex – five years on from his startling, post-lockdown album Another Place – to make its sequel Arcade. With Lewes-based Benjamin and right-hand man Henry Garratt given free rein again, Arcade is a fresh collection of inventive, deeply romantic songs with atmosphere.
Wilson’s credentials go back to his days in UK roots rock band Grand Drive with brother Julian. He’s also released a solo album on Paris-based tastemaker label Fargo Records and six brilliant albums on Loose Music with the revolving cast of his Danny & The Champions of the World project. In 2016 the Champs swept the boards at the first ever UK Americana Awards, winning with Album, Artist and Song of the Year. With Robin Bennett (The Dreaming Spires, Goldrush, Saint Etienne) and Tony Poole (Starry Eyed and Laughing) he released an eponymous album as Bennett Wilson Poole in 2018. This bagged Wilson another UK Americana Awards ‘Artist of the Year’ and the group were voted Americana UK’s ‘Band of the Year’.
