Dead South Live in Edmonton

The Dead South wrapped up their brief Canadian tour with a killer two-hour show in Edmonton. If this is an indication of what’s to come for the 2023 concert year, we are off to a great start. The bar has been set very high.

Walking into the Northern Alberta Jubilee Auditorium the other night felt like we might be going to a revival of sorts. The stage was bathed in a blue white light with four stained glass windows hanging in the back. Upon closer look you knew these weren’t ordinary stained-glass panes. Those familiar with The Dead South were accustomed to the hanging gothic windows. When the light’s when down, the crowd let out a big cheer as the opening banjo licks set the tone for the rest of the night. The band sauntered on and the house lights came up to “Diamond Ring” showcasing Nathaniel Hilts unique haunting vocals. “Hello, we’re the Dead South. Thanks for coming out tonight.”

The Dead South is comprised of Nathaniel Hilts, lead vocals and guitar; Scott Pringle, guitar, mandolin and foot tambourine; Colton “Crawdaddy” Crawford banjo and kick drum, and Danny Kenyon on cello. It’s hard to believe how full and rich their sound is with a few acoustic instruments on stage. The Jubilee Auditorium with it’s well known acoustics accentuate every strum and kick.

The sold out crowd was singing and dancing as the band weaved through song after song with little intros such as “This is about a bar fight and you better not start one here. Take that shit outside” for “Recap” or “This is my Grandmothers favourite song” for “Smoochin’ In The Ditch” and “This is about drinking and not getting let back into the house” for “Time For Crawlin’”

Nathaniel’s mother was in attendance. He said, “It’s her birthday, if you see her, give her a big ole kiss. She loves kisses.”

The Dead South took pauses recognizing each other’s musical talents with short solos of mandolin featuring Scott Pringle; cello from Danny Kenyon and of course the backbone of the band was the amazing Colton Crawford on banjo. These guys are great musicians, entertainers and song writers. They put on one hell of a show that is not to be missed. You may have to wait a while to see them live. The band is currently touring Australia bringing their progressive bluegrass sounds to down under.and don’t have any more dates scheduled for Canada in the near future. They may do the festival circuit this summer before heading to Europe for the rest of 2023.

Highlights for me have to be “In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company” and the closer “Banjo Odyssey” which was introduced as, “A song about two cousins who loved each other very much. No one approved so they had to get away. Everyone knows they are from Red Deer.” This last song was greeted with loud applause and cheering and more singing and dancing as not one bum was left in a seat. As one patron said to me before the show, “They have lyrics about bad subjects yet it somehow makes you feel good.”

For more info and possible summer festival tour dates check out https://www.thedeadsouth.com/