Bluegrass and folk lovers, hipsters and country fans alike all should prepare to get down in a whole new way -- OLD CROW MEDICINE SHOW are set to visit New Zealand for the very first time, bringing their unique performance to the intimate surrounds of Auckland’s King’s Arms and Wellington’s SFBH in March 2009.
“An Evening with Old Crow Medicine Show" will be a two-set affair in the old-time tradition – but there is nothing musty or old-fashioned about what these five Nashville-dwelling boys bring to the stage.
Old Crow Medicine Show is not a smooth, reverent kind of Americana -- instead, the band kicks out good old bluegrass-styled music with attitude and “heartbreaking, plunky ballads and unfastened fiddle tunes charged with youthful vigor”. The band avoid the cliched country themes of lost dogs, dead lovers and the long-gone days of wine and roses, with heartfelt get-downs inspired by “homegrown weed” and “trailer-dwelling meth-heads” – a kind of reality rap performed by hillbilly bohemians.
Since meeting in NYC in 1998, the quintet of Willie, Ketch, Critter, Morgan and Gill have progressed from beginnings as travelling buskers to opening for Dolly Parton and touring with Merle Haggard, along with headlining shows and countless festivals. While the group initially made a name for themselves through the unbridled spirit of their energetic performances and relentless touring, the band has also released three acclaimed albums, clocking up sales of more than 300,000.
It is on the back of their current Shock release ‘Tennessee Pusher’ that Old Crow Medicine Show is travelling way down south, bringing their American sounds to the Antipodes for the first time.
