“[The] five-piece Boston string band should make a big splash
on the acoustic-music scene…”—USA Today
“Subtle and snazzy, this new jack acoustic outfit merges bluegrass with jazz like it was the most natural combination in the world.”—Los Angeles Daily News
“…worthy of Grammy consideration.”—Folk Alley
Wide Awake, the highly anticipated new music from praised Boston-based string band Joy Kills Sorrow, will be released June 4 on Signature Sounds Recordings. The 7-song EP follows the ensemble’s sophomore release This Unknown Science (2011) which was lauded by Boston Globe as “on the cutting edge of acoustic,” while Acoustic Guitar describes the band as “accomplished virtuosos, and it shows in every note.” To support the release, Joy Kills Sorrow have confirmed tour dates throughout the summer. See reverse for details.
Joy Kills Sorrows is comprised of founding member Matthew Arcara (guitar), Emma Beaton (lead vocals), Wesley Corbett (banjo, vocals), Zoe Guigueno (bass, vocals), and Jacob Jollif (mandolin). Formed under the banner “a modern American string band,” the group first emerged out of Boston’s thriving folk music scene in 2005, releasing their self-titled debut album in 2007. Having collectively won various musicianship, songwriting and vocal awards, the band is an eclectic mix of musicians who have classical and/or jazz conservatory training. NPR Music hails, “with a foot firmly planted in its bluegrass roots…Joy Kills Sorrow’s influences from the worlds of jazz, pop, swing and rock are clearly felt in its polished arrangements.”
Wide Awake was co-produced by Joy Kills Sorrow and producer Dan Cardinal. Of the new EP, Arcara notes that it “represents new, fuller, thicker sound for Joy Kills Sorrow—we tried to capture the power of the band at full throttle. It’s a sound we have been after for a while…” and Beaton continues the music is “still deeply infused with our traditional roots, but takes one step further into the indie rock realm.” See full track listing on reverse.
Track Listing
1. Was It You
2. Get Along
3. Such Great Heights
4. Gold in the Deep
5. Working for the Devil
6. Jake
7. Enlistee
Joy Kills Sorrow Tour Dates
May 20 Knoxville, TN Tennessee Shines
May 21 Jackson, MS Hal and Mal’s
May 22 Baton Rogue, LA Mud and Water
May 23 Lafayette, LA The Blue Moon Saloon
May 25 Kerrville, TX Kerrville Folk Festival
May 28 Santa Fe, NM Santa Fe Performance Exchange
May 29 Albuquerque, NM Low Spirits
May 30 Phoenix, AZ Musical Instrument Museum
May 31 Los Angeles, CA The Mint
June 2 Santa Cruz, CA The Crepe Place
June 3 Berkeley, CA Freight and Salvage
June 4 Newberg, OR The Newberg Music Center
June 5 Bellingham, WA Green Frog Café Acoustic Tavern
June 6 Portland, OR Alberta Rose Theatre
June 7 Seattle, WA Fremont Abbey
June 9 Vancouver, Canada St. James Hall
June 10 Qualicum Beach, Canada Oceanside Community Church
June 15 Loveland, CO KUNC’s Tuna Fish & Peanut Butter
June 16 Palisada, CO Palisade Bluegrass and Roots Festival
July 3 New York, NY Madison Square Music
July 6 Portsmouth, NH Prescott Park Arts Festival
July 7 Cambridge, MA Club Passim
July 28 White Sulphur Springs, MT Red Ants Pants Music Festival
August 10 Huntington, VT Valley Stage Music Festival
August 16-18 Owen Sound, Canada Summerfolk Music and Crafts Festival
September 8 Richmond, VA Modlin Center for the Arts
November 8 Athens, TN The Arts Center
