"...the woods are lovely, dark and deep..." - Robert Frost from the poem "Stopping By Woods On A Snowy Evening" which, I have to admit, is one of my favorite poems. It takes you to the heart of the scene, between the cadence and the scanning, you FEEL the slowness; the snow falling, the serenity. I am not sure if The Deep Dark Woods took the inspiration for their name from this poem, but to my ear, they are the musical embodiment of it. Their music echoes with the stillness, their haunting harmonies glisten in the air. They are steeped in vibe and virtuosity, or as they put it, "The Deep Dark Woods approach their instruments with studied respect for the honoured traditions of the shadowy side of roots music."

They are doing a swing through the U.S. in May, and I can't encourage you loudly enough to immerse yourself in them in person.

• 13 May 2010, 8PM * The Turf Club w/ Hurricane Bells * Saint Paul, MN
• 15 May 2010, 10PM * The Cactus Club w/ Hurricane Bells * Milwaukee, WI
• 16 May 2010, 9:30PM * The Empty Bottle * Chicago, IL
• 18 May 2010 * The Basement: New Faces Night * Nashville, TN
• 20 May 2010, 12Noon * Blue Plate Special on WDVX: Listen Live Online * Knoxville, TN
• 20 May 2010 * Bristol Train Station w/ Sam Quinn and Japan Ten * Bristol, TN
• 21 May 2010 * Border Bash w/ The Devil Makes Three * Bristol, TN
• 22 May 2010, 8PM * The Masquerade * Atlanta, GA

For inspiration, here is "Charlie's (Is Coming Down), with guest Kendel Carson on fiddle, from our SXSW Showcase in March. This song is featured on CBC Radio 2's Great Canadian Song Quest project, representing Saskatchewan. Listeners were asked to nomiate a location from within their province to be the basis for a song, then they voted on which artists would write about the winning location. Pretty slick, huh?

-Jessie Scott