I was first introduced to the Deep Dark Woods while at XM Radio. Their hauntingly beautiful, heartbreakingly lovely album Hang Me Oh Hang Me crossed my desk in 2007 when it first came out, and I was instantly captivated. Here is a bit of trivia for you X Country listeners of old; the very last concert in the Wired In series was The Deep Dark Woods, recorded in the XM Canada studios. There are certain bands I just can’t get enough of, and this is one of them. Music Fog has had the honor of recording them a couple of times. I have seen them perform many more times than that. They create an atmosphere of rarified air, a shimmering and precious moment demanding your attention. Demanding is too strong a word, really, it is more like hypnotizing. It is all very Ingmar Bergman-esque, actually. I so love it when I get to watch careers unfold.
The Deep Dark Words has just come off playing Bonnaroo, are heading to the venerable Newport Folk Festival in July, and will grace the stage of ACL Music Festival in Austin in October. They are up for the "New And Emerging Artist of the Year" at The Americana Honors and Awards in September. We did a session with them two years ago during the 2010 Spring Music Fog Marathon at Threadgill’s, and we saved one of the songs from their new album The Place I Left Behind for now. Today’s song is “The Banks Of The Leopold Canal.” The Deep Dark Woods are Ryan Boldt, Burke Barlow, Lucas Goetz, Chris Mason, and Geoff Hilhorst, though Geoff didn’t play on this session. But Kendel Carson was there, and joined them on fiddle. Simply beautiful.
- Jessie Scott
