If you missed them at the South Country Fair, don’t miss the Dead South’s Lethbridge debut, Dec. 5 at the Hungarian Canadian hall next to the old firehall (410 2 Ave S) where they will be playing promoter Lorinda Peel’s belated birthday party.
The Regina bluegrass band have had an exciting year which included a lot of touring in support of their 2014 CD “Good Company, ” their fourth successful European Tour and a video for “ Honey You” which has been picked up by CMT.
“We’ve been putting a lot of work into it, so I’m glad people are starting to notice,” said Dead South frontman Nate Hilts, who along with mandolinist / guitarist Scott Pringle, banjo player Colton Crawford and cellist Danny Kenyon, make up the Dead South.
A new fan of the band is Tom Cochrane, who was at their Nov. 24 Toronto show.
“We were very tired. We had just go off the plane from Europe and he was there. He said he wanted to hang out, which was pretty cool,” Hilts said, noting right after that they had to board another plane home to Regina to play the Agribition.
He said the European tour, which included stops in The Netherlands, Germany and the Czech Republic, was the best yet.
“The first time someone from Germany said they liked us , it blew me away. And now, to have 200-250 people at the shows is a pretty amazing feeling,” he said.
He is looking forward to the band’s first visit to Lethbridge. This summer, they stole the show on the East stage at South Country Fair.
“That was great. All of the people there were so nice to us,” he said, adding they don’t play Alberta as often as they’d like, though they have played Calgary and Edmonton two or three times and Lloydminster and Red Deer a few more than that.
“There are a lot of great people and great places to play in Alberta,” he said. And great people plus great places always equals a good time,” he continued.
They are pleased CMT has picked up the video for “ Honey You.”
“ It was on the album and on the Ep, so we thought we should do a video for it,” he said.
“ We’re glad they’re interested in it,” he said.
They are getting ready for their next CD.
“We have a handful of songs. We’re starting to overwrite for it now,” he said adding they plan to record the new music in February or March with an eye on a summer or fall release.
The band formed when Nate Hilts and banjo player Colton Crawford got together and bonded over the band Trampled By Turtles.
“I met Colton and we got to talking about bluegrass music and he said he had just bought a banjo and I said I always wanted to be in a band. So we started playing open mics and it progressed from there,” he said, adding that lead to including cellist Danny Canyon in the band.
“I enjoy playing with him. And he definitely adds a different sound,” he said.
They are excited to finally play Lethbridge.
“ We don’t know what to expect. It will be a nice, energetic, fun set. We want to get your toes tapping and the liquor flowing. Do you guys like to drink,” he laughed.
The Dead South play the Old Hungarian Hall, Saturday Dec. 5 at 8 p.m. with special guests Shaela Miller and Danny Dyck. Tickets are $20.