Darlingside Showcases Exquisite Harmonies At SOPAC

Tickets are still available for Darlingside on Friday, September 27th at 8:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $36-$52 and can be purchased at SOPACnow.org/darlingside.

Darlingside is a four-person indie folk band from Boston, MA. The band consists of Don Mitchell, Auyon Mukharji, Harris Paseltiner, and David Senft. Their style has been described as "exquisitely-arranged, literary-minded, baroque folk-pop" by NPR. The four close friends construct every piece of their music collaboratively, pooling musical and lyrical ideas so that each song bears the imprint of four different writing voices

"It's over now / The flag is sunk / The world has flattened out," are the first words of Extralife, the new album by Boston-based quartet Darlingside. While the band's critically acclaimed 2015 release Birds Say was steeped in nostalgia and the conviction of youth, Extralife grapples with dystopian realities and uncertain futures. Whether ambling down a sidewalk during the apocalypse or getting stuck in a video game for eternity, the band asks, sometimes cynically, sometimes playfully: what comes next? Their erstwhile innocence is now bloodshot for the better. "The sound is rooted in harmony, and when Darlingside gets it right and leaves the search for deeper meaning aside, the effect can be sublime," so says The Daily News.

Hope arrives in the form of Darlingside's signature superpower harmonies, drawing frequent comparisons to late-60s era groups like Crosby, Stills & Nash; Simon & Garfunkel; and The Byrds. And yet, their penchant for science fiction and speculative futurism counteracts any urge to pigeonhole their aesthetic as "retro.".

Darlingside perform all their music around a single vocal microphone, inviting audiences into a lush, intimate world where four voices are truly one. Their 2016 performance at the Cambridge Folk Festival "earned an ecstatic reception and turned them into instant stars," according to The Daily Telegraph. The band tours regularly throughout the United States, Canada, the UK and Europe.

About SOPAC:

Since 2006, SOPAC has been serving as a premier performing arts center in the region. SOPAC offers innovative artistic and cultural experiences for diverse audiences in an intimate, inviting environment. The arts center hosts a variety of live performances, community events and education programs for all ages. SOPAC is home for Seton Hall University Arts Council's performances, including Classical Concert Series, Jazz 'N the Hall performances and Seton Hall University Theatre productions. SOPAC programs are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the New Jersey State Council on the Arts. The South Orange Performing Arts Center (SOPAC) is a 501(c)(3) charitable organization. For more information, visit SOPACnow.org.

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