Just back from a month-long European tour in support of their acclaimed self-titled debut LP, New Orleans roots-soul revivalists The Deslondes have lined up tours with rowdy Americana trio The Devil Makes Three and St. Louis traditionalist Pokey LaFarge to wrap up their successful year at home. The five-piece will team up with The Devil Makes Three on October 20 in Buffalo, NY, for shows in Carrboro, Nashville, Atlanta, Asheville, Minneapolis and Chicago and then join LaFarge December 2 in Springfield, MO for dates in Mobile, Memphis and all throughout Texas, before concluding with a hometown show at Tipitina’s in New Orleans on December 12.
In conjunction with the tour announcement, Offbeat is premiering the band’s video for “Out On The Rise,” the track that beautifully closes out their album. The intimate performance video was shot by Joshua Shoemaker (Hurray For The Riff Raff, Benjamin Booker) in the Holy Cross neighborhood of New Orleans and deftly captures the late night vibe of the song and the democratic ethos of the band. “I wrote ‘Out On The Rise’ when I was teaching myself some piano,” reveals songwriter
Sam Doores. “I didn’t have a place or piano of my own at the time, but there were a few late night bars and even a grocery store in New Orleans that would let me come in around closing time and practice awhile. I came up with the tune during one of those late night sessions and figured I might as well write my own closing-time song. Tom Waits and Randy Newman are longtime heroes of mine so I figured I’d try to write a song I could imagine one of them singing.” Doores continues, “The chorus touches on the frustration I was feeling of not being settled down anywhere or even being able to make up my mind to settle down anywhere. My best friends were scattered all over the country … it was a hot humid summer night in New Orleans … the mosquitos were back on the scene and I wanted to skip town again. Another part of me, however, was secretly hoping someone would cozy up next to me and try to convince me to stick around awhile.”
The Deslondes’ eponymous debut full length, produced by Andrija Tokic (Albama Shakes, Benjamin Booker, Hurray for the Riff Raff), was released in June on New West Records to rave reviews. The New York Times hailed them as “burgeoning stars.” Pitchfork awarded it a 7.9/10 and said, “Their debut introduces a band that sounds confident and fully formed. … They take nothing about country or R&B or New Orleans for granted, but consider everything anew.” Uncut gave it an 8/10 and called it “a rich, nuanced, fantastically enjoyable album that understands great music is often the product of a historical continuum rather than radical innovation.” Garden & Gun featured the band alongside Leon Bridges, Fantastic Negrito, Adia Victoria and The Word in an article entitled “The New Heavies” and said, “The album is a patchwork of influences: the powerful sound of the Stax and Sun Records era, Keith Richards-esque guitar riffs, harmonies that recall The Band, and the country folk of Townes Van Zandt.” NPR premiered the LP as a First Listen and declared, “Their tradition-tweaking testimonies to restless inclinations and precarious attachments shamble and shuffle, swing and bop, slip and slide, straining familiar forms at the seams, yielding something energized, elegant and new.”
Comprised of five songwriters – Sam Doores (vocals/guitar), Riley Downing(vocals/guitar), Dan Cutler (vocals/stand-up bass), Cameron Snyder(vocals/percussion) and John James Tourville (pedal steel/fiddle) – The Deslondes are a unique democratic collective where each musician contributes writing and arrangements and members take the lead at different times. The band endeavors to carry on the traveling troubadour tradition of their heroes Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, Townes Van Zandt, Blaze Foley and John Prine and their music production and vocal arrangements are inspired by the rhythmic, high energy, and harmony-driven sounds of their other heroes, The Band and Allen Toussaint.
THE DESLONDES ON TOUR
October 20 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom *
October 21 – Millvale, PA @ Mr. Small’s Theatre *
October 22 – Carrboro, NC @ Cat’s Cradle *
October 23 – Nashville, TN @ Cannery Ballroom *
October 24 – Atlanta, GA @ Variety Playhouse *
October 25 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel *
October 27 – Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s *
October 29 – Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue *
October 30 – Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues *
October 31 – Chicago, IL @ House Of Blues *
November 1 – Grand Rapids, MI @ The Intersection *
December 2 – Springfield, MO @ Outland Ballroom +
December 3 – Bowling Green, KY @ The Warehouse at Mt. Victor +
December 5 – Mobile, AL @ The Merry Widow +
December 6 – Memphis, TN @ 1884 Lounge +
December 8 – Oklahoma, OK @ ACM at UCO +
December 9 – Dallas, TX @ The Loft +
December 10 – Austin, TX @ The Parish +
December 11 – Houston, TX @ Continental Club +
December 12 – New Orleans, LA @ Tipitinas +
* With The Devil Makes Three
+ With Pokey LaFarge
