AEG Live is pleased to announce that the southern gothic, supernatural musical Ghost Brothers of Darkland County, written by Stephen King, with music by John Mellencamp and T Bone Burnett, has confirmed a tour of 20 American cities throughout the Midwest and Southeast beginning October 10 in Bloomington, IN, and ending November 6 in Grand Rapids, MI. Tickets go on sale Friday, May 17 at 10am at aeglive.com. This extraordinary collaboration, 13 years in the making, is a haunting tale of fraternal love, lust, jealousy and revenge, which will be performed by an ensemble cast of 15 actors and a four-piece live band. The album of the musical will be released on June 4 via Hear Music and the Concord Music Group. Complete tour dates are below.
The Ghost Brothers of Darkland County saga began when Mellencamp told King about a cabin on his land in Indiana where two brothers had gotten in a fight over a girl; one brother accidentally killing the other, only to die along with the girl in a car crash a short time later. King came up with an outline for a play in a matter of days. And then off and on, back and forth, they began to develop it into a full-length musical.
The superb blues ‘n’ roots music of Ghost Brothers reflects the wide range of styles and influences needed for a work that jumps back and forth across decades. Rather than use the songs to propel the play’s narrative, as in a conventional musical, Mellencamp chose to make them a way to reveal the emotions and inner workings of the characters.
Set in the tiny town of Lake Belle Reve, Mississippi, the Ghost Brothers’ story centers on two sets of brothers: the ghosts of Jack and Andy, dead in an apparent murder/suicide, and their nephews, the living Frank and Drake, who seem to be headed toward the same downward spiral as their uncles. Joe, younger brother of Jack and Andy, father of Frank and Drake, has decided it’s time to reveal his own terrible secret at the site of the tragedy, before it’s too late.
As the story emerged during the writing of the musical, it became clear to the collaborators thatGhost Brothers had taken them into unfamiliar territory – and they liked it that way. “John can make rock & roll records and I can write books for the rest of our lives,” says King, “but that’s the safe way to do it, and that’s no way to live if you want to stay creative. We were willing to be educated, and at our age, that’s an accomplishment.”
Putting King’s words and Mellencamp’s songs on the stage is in the skilful hands of acclaimed director Susan Booth, who calls the musical a “a kind of new age travelling medicine show.” “This is a gothic story-driven rock concert,” says Booth. “I want the emphasis to be on this fantastic score and our great singers and how the story advances us from song to song. In most musicals, the songs advance the narrative. With Ghost Brothers, the story will advance the songs.”
Tickets go on sale Friday, May 17 at 10am at aeglive.com. The complete Ghost Brothers of Darkland County tour itinerary is below:
October
10 – Bloomington, IN – Indiana University Auditorium
11 – Louisville, KY – Whitney Hall *
12 – Knoxville, KY – Knoxville Civic Auditorium
13 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium **
16 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
17 – Evansville, IN – Aiken Theatre at The Centre
18 – Indianapolis, IN – Clowes Memorial Hall
19 – Akron, OH – Akron Civic Theatre
22 – Columbus, OH – Palace Theatre
24 – Ft. Wayne, IN – Embassy Theatre
25 – Madison, WI – Overture Hall
26 – Rockford, IL – Coronado Performing Arts Center
27 – Appleton, WI – Fox Cities Performing Arts Center
29 – Milwaukee, WI – Riverside Theatre ***
31 – Minneapolis, MN – State Theatre
November
1 – Sioux City, IA – Orpheum Theatre
2 – Ames, IA – Stephens Auditorium
3 – Davenport, IA – Adler Theatre
5 – South Bend, IN – Morris Performing Arts Center
6 – Grand Rapids, MI – DeVos Performance Hall
* Louisville onsale Friday, May 31 at 10am
** Asheville onsale Saturday, May 18 at 10am
*** Milwaukee onsale Friday, May 17 at 12 noon
To purchase the Ghost Brothers of Darkland County album, go to:
Itunes: http://smarturl.it/GBODC_iTunes
Amazon Hardcover Edition: http://smarturl.it/gbodcHC
Amazon Deluxe Version: http://smarturl.it/GBODCdeluxe
Listen to Ghost Brothers music and view the trailer at: www.ghostbrothersofdarklandcounty.com
