The Dead South is a Canadian folk-bluegrass band known for their fast-paced music, gritty vocals, and high energy live shows. Formed in 2012 in Regina, Saskatchewan, the band consists of Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle, Danny Kenyon, and Eliza Mary Doyle. The Dead South quickly gained popularity after releasing a music video for their song “In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company” in 2014. Since then, they have released three studio albums and toured extensively across North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand. Their success has led them to perform at major festivals like Bonnaroo, Osheaga and Stagecoach. However, after nearly a decade of constant touring and recording, fans have been wondering if The Dead South is still actively performing in 2023.
Are The Dead South still together?
Yes, The Dead South remains together as a 4-piece band and they are still actively touring and performing in 2023. There has been no indication from the band members themselves or their management that they plan to break up or stop performing live anytime soon. All four of the original core band members – Nate Hilts, Scott Pringle, Danny Kenyon and Eliza Mary Doyle – are still part of the lineup. Over the years they have expanded their live band to include additional instrumentalists and backing vocalists, but the founding quartet remains at the heart of The Dead South’s sound.
Have they released new music recently?
The Dead South released their third full-length studio album, Sugar & Joy, in October 2020. This album spawned several singles including “Booty Song,” “Diamond Ring” and “Crazy Man.” While they have not put out another full album since 2020, The Dead South did release a new two-song EP called Breakin’ Strings in July 2022. This EP includes the tracks “Breakin’ Strings” and “Dead Man Walking.” So the band has put out fresh original music as recently as mid-2022. They continue writing and recording new material while on the road.
The Dead South’s Touring Schedule
The Dead South spent much of 2021 and 2022 back on the road after live music returned following pandemic shutdowns. Here is an overview of their recent and upcoming tour dates and festival performances:
2021 Touring Highlights
Date | Venue/Festival | Location |
---|---|---|
June 11 | Bonnaroo Music Festival | Manchester, TN |
July 22 | Floydfest | Floyd, VA |
July 24 | Hartwell Bluegrass Festival | Hartwell, GA |
August 5 | WayHome Music & Arts | Barrie, ON |
August 27 | Rockin’ River Music Fest | Merritt, BC |
September 3 | Chicago Bluegrass & Blues Festival | Chicago, IL |
As shown in this table of highlights, The Dead South played major events like Bonnaroo and WayHome Festival as well as smaller niche festivals in 2021. This touring schedule demonstrates that they were fully back on the road last year.
Upcoming 2022-2023 Tour Dates
The Dead South also have numerous live shows and festival appearances booked well into 2023. Some notable upcoming gigs on their schedule include:
Date | Venue/Festival | Location |
---|---|---|
October 30, 2022 | Suwannee Hulaween | Live Oak, FL |
November 3, 2022 | Turner Hall Ballroom | Milwaukee, WI |
November 9, 2022 | The Sylvee | Madison, WI |
November 25, 2022 | Alberta Bair Theater | Billings, MT |
December 2, 2022 | Domino Festival | Katowice, Poland |
December 31, 2022 | SnowGlobe Music Festival | South Lake Tahoe, CA |
March 11, 2023 | AURA Fest | Live Oak, FL |
Based on their busy touring schedule booked out into early 2023, it is abundantly clear that The Dead South remains an active band with no plans of slowing down. They continue to book performances at renowned venues and popular music festivals around the world.
Their Music Festival Popularity
Playing major music festivals has become a big part of The Dead South’s ability to reach new audiences and gain more mainstream exposure. Some of the most notable festivals they’ve performed at over the years include:
- Bonnaroo (Multiple appearances including 2022)
- Stagecoach
- Merlefest
- Shaky Knees
- RockyGrass
- New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
- C2C: Country to Country
- Summerfest
- RBC Ottawa Bluesfest
- Winnipeg Folk Festival
- Calgary Folk Music Festival
- Hardly Strictly Bluegrass
- Hellfest (France)
- Byron Bay Bluesfest (Australia)
The Dead South often sell out festival appearances well in advance. Their energetic live show and rowdy fanbase make them a popular booking at events catering to young alternative music and indie folk rock audiences. They bring a unique sound that festival bookers see as a way to add diversity and breadth to lineups focused on pop, EDM, jam bands, bluegrass or Americana music. The Dead South’s festival popularity shows no signs of diminishing.
Scheduled Performances in 2023
Looking ahead, The Dead South is already booked to play major festival stages again in 2023. Some of their confirmed appearances for next year so far include:
- AURA Music & Arts Festival – Live Oak, FL (March)
- Carolina Country Music Fest – Myrtle Beach, SC (June)
- Black Deer Festival – Kent, England (June)
- Sasktel Saskatchewan Jazz Festival – Saskatoon, SK (June)
- Under the Big Sky Festival – Whitefish, MT (July)
- Moonshiner’s Ball – Saint Clairsville, OH (July)
- Mighty Hoopla – London, England (September)
This early festival schedule for 2023 indicates the band plans to maintain a busy slate of performances at major events next year.
Recent Concert Setlists
Another way to assess whether The Dead South is still actively performing live is to look at their recent setlists from shows in 2022. Here are some examples of full concert setlists from their most current tour:
October 13, 2022 – Scoot Inn – Austin, TX
- Bootlegger’s Bones
- In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company
- Honey You
- Miss Mary
- Diamond Ring
- The Recap
- Crazy Man
- Banjo Odyssey
- Fat Little Killer Boy
- Dead Man’s Hand
- House of the Rising Sun
- Bury Me Not
- Booty Song
October 19, 2022 – The Majestic Ventura Theater – Ventura, CA
- In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company
- Honey You
- Booty Song
- Fat Little Killer Boy
- Deadman’s Hand
- House of the Rising Sun
- Banjo Odyssey
- Diamond Ring
- Miss Mary
- Crazy Man
- Bury Me Not
- The Recap
October 23, 2022 – Deep Ellum Arts Festival – Dallas, TX
- In Hell I’ll Be In Good Company
- Honey You
- Miss Mary
- Crazy Man
- Dead Man’s Hand
- Diamond Ring
- Banjo Odyssey
- Booty Song
- House of the Rising Sun
- Fat Little Killer Boy
- The Recap
- Bury Me Not
These recent setlists demonstrate The Dead South’s continued commitment to performing live, delivering a different show every night drawing from their catalog of recorded material.
Why The Dead South Continue Touring
The Dead South have explicitly stated in recent interviews that they plan to continue extensive touring for the foreseeable future. Here are some of the main reasons why the band remains passionate about playing live concerts:
- Performing live is how they started out and it remains core to their identity as a folk/bluegrass band.
- Touring allows them to constantly improve as musicians through playing together night after night.
- Playing in front of crowds gives them an adrenaline rush and energy that feeds their creativity.
- Seeing fans react to their music and building a community around their shows motivates them.
- Traveling to new places and experiencing different cultures inspires their songwriting.
- Live shows enable them to reproduce their studio sound in an authentic way.
Band member Nate Hilts summarized it well, telling Billboard magazine “Playing live is kind of what we do. We’ve always just been a band that plays live. We’ll continue to play live as much as we can within reason.” For The Dead South, touring and performing for audiences is not just part of their job – it’s part of their identity and passion as a band.
Plans for Future Albums & Tours
In interviews, The Dead South members have openly shared that they plan to take everything on a “tour-by-tour, album-by-album basis” going forward. While they remain committed to their performance schedule in the near term, they intentionally do not plot out long term plans too far in advance. However, the band has confirmed they will continue releasing new music periodically and supporting each album release with vigorous touring.
So fans can reasonably expect more national and international tour dates announced in conjunction with future Dead South album releases. For now, the band’s focus remains on delivering their energetic live show to audiences far and wide.
Conclusion
In summary, evidence clearly shows that The Dead South continues to be very actively writing, recording and performing as a band as of 2023. While their touring schedule looked different in 2020-2021 due to the global pandemic, the group resumed robust world touring in 2022 with dozens more dates booked out into 2023. Their appearance at major music festivals also continues strong. Recent interviews with band members reinforce that The Dead South remains passionate about playing live shows for fans. All signs point to the band staying very busy on the road supporting recent and future album releases. So music fans worldwide can look forward to many more high energy, boot-stomping performances from The Dead South for years to come.