Steeped in the tradition of authentic bluegrass and folk music, North Carolina's Acoustic Syndicate released their first full-length album in eight years, Rooftop Garden, yesterday. In honor the release, check out the new video for their song "Memphis Girls", courtesy of The Bluegrass Situation, below! This strangely cheerful tale is about a guy who brings his "big idea" to the city of Memphis, only to go home with his tail between his legs. Fortunately his friends are there to ease him back to reality.
Whether they're tilling a field or digging deeper into their unique blend of rock and bluegrass, the members of
Acoustic Syndicate have a distinct way of reaching back in order to move forward. Raised in a valley of the world's oldest mountains, brothers Bryon and Fitz, along with cousin Steve, still farm the land in Cleveland County, N.C. that has been in their family since the 1700s. The impact of the years spent with their hands in the soil, growing wheat, soybeans, tomatoes and sorghum, has informed their music as much as the hours spent with their hands on their instruments.
"We are farmers," said Steve about the McMurry men in the band. "We have a strong ancestral tradition and we will never give it up. In many ways it's what gives us purpose and has much to do with who we are." And it's also why the band can bring such genuine home grown music from the field to the stage.
"But the truth is, the concern for the land can not just be important to us," says Steve, "the folks who work it, grow food on it for others to eat, tend it from one generation to the next. Even the most apathetic and uneducated citizen might one day wonder why the rain burns their eyes or why there is a hole in the sky - why they can't breathe or escape the heat. For some of us, only then will we truly realize the seriousness of our situation. And then it will be too late."
And so the band plays on, with bassist Jay Sanders and dobro player Billy Cardine joining the McMurrys to create Acoustic Syndicate's signature sound. Jamming and grinning and singing these deep and hopeful tunes encouraging people to think as they dance, expand their minds and open their hearts to the good that can be done around them.
"Through our music, we have tried to maintain a consistent message, a reminder, that this Earth is the only one we will ever have. And though we speak of some lofty ideals in our music, my most fervent hope is that when people listen to us or come to our show, they leave with a laugh and a smile and the satisfaction of having been a part of something positive."
Tour Dates:
9/13 - The Pour House - Charlestion, SC
9/14 - Cat's Cradle - Carrboro, NC
9/20 - Oaktoberfest - Oak Park, IL
9/28 - Mount Holly Arts
Festival - Mount Holly, NC
10/25 - Ziggy's By
The Sea - Wilmington, NC
10/26 - Ziggy's - Winston Salem, NC
10/18 - LEAF (Lake Eden Arts Festival) - Black Mountain, NC
11/30 - North Carolina Music & Arts
Festival - Lexington, NC
12/20 -
Visulite Theatre - Charlotte, NC
12/21 - The Lincoln Theater - Raleigh, NC
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