Photo by Scott Preston
Following a triumphant performance on Austin City Limits and a third appearance on A Prairie Home Companion, Los Angeles duo The Milk Carton Kids have announced a series of North American tour dates for the Spring of 2014 playing in support of their acclaimed Anti- Records release The Ash & Clay.
The Milk Carton Kids will be featured in two PBS television events this week. First, the PBS documentary Nashville 2.0: The Rise of Americana airs Nov 22 nationwide and highlights the duo’s shaping of the new Americana movement. The second, ACL Presents: Americana Music Festival 2013,features the band’s performance at the Ryman Auditorium in September and will air in the ACL time slot on PBS throughout the week, beginning Nov 22.
In the last three years, the Los Angeles based flat-picking harmony duo has emerged as a powerful voice defining the continuing folk tradition. A refreshing alternative to the foot-stomping grandeur of the so-called “folk revival,” an understated virtuosity defines The Milk Carton Kids to the delight of traditionalists and genre newcomers alike.
Prairie Home Companion host Garrison Keillor calls The Milk Carton Kids “absolute geniuses in close-harmony”, while cultural purveyors like T Bone Burnett and Billy Bragg continue to refer the importance of the duo among a group of new folk bands expanding and contradicting the rich tradition that comes before them.
In addition, Austin City Limits wrote of their recent appearance, “Playing almost purely acoustically – no guitar amplification, one vocal mic – Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale recalled a time when the Kingston Trio, Peter Paul & Mary and (especially) Simon & Garfunkel ruled the hit parade. Driven by close harmonies and skillful guitar work and punctuated by deadpan humor, the besuited duo’s songs had a timeless quality that only the best folk contains.”
RECENT ACCLAIM FOR THE MILK CARTON KIDS:
“A sweetly dazzling variation on close-harmony vocals” – New York Times
“Both heartbroken and healed.” – Filter
“Bittersweet and beautiful” – San Francisco Chronicle
MILK CARTON TOUR DATES:
4/14 – Nashville, TN – Belcourt Theater
4/15 – St. Louis, MO – Sheldon Ballroom
4/16 – Memphis, TN – Buckman Performing Arts Center
4/17 – Birmingham, AL – TBD
4/18 – Atlanta, GA – The Buckhead Theatre
4/19 – Asheville, NC – Grey Eagle
4/21 – Vienna, VA – The Barns at Wolf Trap
4/22 – Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live
4/24 – Brownfield, ME – Stone Mountain Arts Center
4/30 – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
5/1 – Burlington, VT – Higher Ground
5/2 – Montreal, QC – Corona Theatre
5/3 – Toronto, ON – The Great Hall
5/5 – Cleveland, OH – Beachland Ballroom
5/6 – Ann Arbor, MI – The Ark
5/7 – Grand Rapids, MI – Ladies Literary Club
5/10 – Stoughton, WI – Stoughton Opera House
5/11 – Minneapolis, MN – Dakota Jazz Club
5/12 – Winnipeg, MB – TBD
5/14 – Calgary, AB – Festival Hall
5/15 – Edmonton, AB – McDougall United Church
5/29 – Houston, TX – Mucky Duck
5/30 – Austin, TX – Stateside Theater
5/31 – Dallas, TX – Poor David’s Pub
6/1 – Oklahoma City, OK – Blue Door
6/3 – Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
6/5 – Salt Lake City, UT – The State Room
6/6 – Boise, ID – Neurolux
6/11 – Seattle, WA – Neptune Theatre
6/12 – Vancouver, BC – St. James Hall
6/14 – Portland, OR – Aladdin Theater
6/16 – Napa, CA – City Winery
6/17 – Santa Cruz, CA – Kuumbwa Jazz
6/18 – San Francisco, CA – Great American Music Hall
6/19 – Santa Barbara, CA – TBD
6/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Japan America Theater
6/22 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up
6/23 – Phoenix, AZ – Musical Instument Museum
For More Information:
http://www.themilkcartonkids.com/
