Dead Horses – The Indie Folk Duo Are No Depression’s August Spotlight Artist
Milwaukee’s eclectic Brady Street neighborhood inspired the title for latest album by folk duo Dead Horses, who are No Depression magazine’s August Spotlight Artist. (Stay tuned for additional Dead Horses content on their platform throughout August.) Blending elements of traditional roots with modern indie folk, Dead Horses are both familiar and unexpected, unflinchingly honest in their portrayal of modern American life, yet optimistic in their unshakable faith in brighter days to come. The Wisconsin duo, Sarah Vos (songwriter, guitarist and vocalist) and Dan Wolff (upright bass), spoke with editor Stacy Chandler about their complicated history, their band name (a tribute both to horses fallen in war, and a friend who died of a heroin overdose), and the “deep vein” of empathy that runs through their work. No Depression notes: “What’s constant is a keen eye for people and plights that are often unspoken, and lyrics and melodies that beckon listeners to look more closely.”
The album is a love letter to acceptance and empathy. The reflective title track, with frontwoman Vos providing her own backing harmonies and Wolff providing the gently rolling bass line, is an ode to their colorful, free-spirited stomping grounds. “You just never know what or who you’re going to see,” Vos, songwriter, singer, and guitarist. “The song, both musically and lyrically, is representative of a coming-of-age for me personally and for Dead Horses,” Vos says. “In previous records, I felt I was still searching for an anchor. In ‘Brady Street,’ I realized that the anchor is me.”
Dead Horse’s breakthrough 2018 album, My Mother the Moon, dealt with Vos’s painful past. Her family lost their home when she was a teen after their expulsion from the fundamentalist Christian church where her father was a pastor. This period of homelessness and poverty, as well as Vos coming to terms with her identity as a queer woman, impacted the narrative of the album.
Check out dead horses’ adio single “Days Grow Longer” above
TRACKLISTING
- Brady Street
- It’s All Good
- Ok Kid
- Bird Over the Train
- Birds Can Write the Chorus
- All I Ever Wanted
- Ward
- You Are Who You Need to Be
- Under Grey Skies
- Days Grow Longer
TOUR DATES (full band shows):
- FRI, AUG 12 MILWAUKEE, WI – TURNER HALL BALLROOM
- SAT, AUG 13 CHICAGO, IL – HIDEOUT
- SUN, AUG 14 DES MOINES, IA – XBK
- THU, AUG 25 ST. LOUIS, MO – OLD ROCK HOUSE
- FRI, AUG 26 FAYETTEVILLE, AR – FAYETTEVILLE ROOTS FESTIVAL
- SAT, AUG 27 OKLAHOMA CITY, OK – PONY BOY OKC
- SUN, AUG 28 LAWRENCE, KS – THE BOTTLENECK
- TUE, SEP 6 SIOUX CITY, IA – VANGARDE ARTS
- WED, SEP 7 SPEARFISH, SD – MATTHEWS OPERA HOUSE
- THU, SEP 8 DENVER, CO – GLOBE HALL
- FRI, SEP 9 TELLURIDE, CO – MUSIC ON THE GREEN
- WED, SEP 14 NASHVILLE, TN – AMERICANA FEST SHOWCASE @ BROOKLYN BOWL, 9:30P
- FRI, SEP 16 LA CROSSE, WI – MID WEST MUSIC FEST – Dead Horses will headline at the Cavalier Theatre
- SAT, SEP 17 EAU CLAIRE, WI – JAMF THEATRE PABLO CENTER
- SUN, SEP 18 ST. PAUL, MN – TURF CLUB
- FRI, SEP 23 WINONA, MN – BOATS & BLUEGRASS
- FRI, SEP 30 AURORA, IL – THE VENUE
- SUN, OCT 2 INDIANAPOLIS, IN – WHITE RABBIT CABARET
- TUE, OCT 4 COLUMBUS, OH – RUMBA CAFE
- WED, OCT 5 PENINSULA, OH – THE G.A.R. HALL
- THU, OCT 6 PITTSBURGH, PA – CLUB CAFE
- FRI, OCT 7 BROOKLYN, NY – UNION POOL
- SAT, OCT 8 CAMBRIDGE, MA – ATWOOD’S TAVERN
- SUN, OCT 9 PHILADELPHIA, PA – THE LOFT @ CITY WINERY
- WED, OCT 12 WASHINGTON, DC – DC9
- THU, OCT 13 CARRBORO, NC – CAT’S CRADLE BACKROOM
- FRI, OCT 14 CHARLOTTE, NC – THE EVENING MUSE
