The Devil Makes Three Announces 2018 North American Tour

Photo credit: Giles Clement

The Devil Makes Three has announced an extensive North American tour for 2018 with tickets going on sale this Friday, November 10, HERE. The 23-show run will kick-off in Madison, WI on January 10 and hit major cities throughout Canada and the American Midwest, Northeast, and Southeast, ending in Dallas, TX on February 10. Last year, the internationally beloved, Americana trio released Redemption & Ruin on New West Records to critical acclaim. The album is a thoughtfully curated collection of covers that pays tribute to its versatile genre’s staple players and the band’s most penetrative influences. Divided into two sides, the subjects of “redemption” and “ruin” are explored through various songs written by blues, roots, and rock legends like Tom Waits, Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson, Townes Van Zandt and more. On the album, the band is also joined by an all-star cast of special guests like Emmylou Harris, Tim O’Brien, Jerry Douglas, Darrell Scott and guitar great Duane Eddy. The archival piece is tightly wound together by The Devil Makes Three’s rigorous energy and masterful musicianship, both of which shine through their live set. Please see below for full tour details, which includes the band’s current U.S. run that ends with two shows in Denver, CO on November 18 & 19.

American Songwriter calls Redemption & Ruin “a wonderfully successful foray that solidifies and expands the band’s already impressive credentials around a concept that’s a natural extension from their existing catalog of originals.” Additionally, Entertainment Weekly premiered the band’s interpretation of “Champagne and Reefer,” originally written and recorded by Chicago blues legend Muddy Waters, noting, “California trio The Devil Makes Three have served up their singularly spooky blend of blues, folk, and rockabilly for the past decade and a half.” Watch the video for the song HERE. While Redemption & Ruin brings listeners directly to the source point of the band’s inspiration, original songwriting and a zeal for early Americana is what helped propel The Devil Makes Three through celebrated gigs big and small, including appearances at an array of festivals such as Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, Hangout Fest, Shaky Knees, and Bonnaroo. Through multiple acclaimed albums featuring infectious songs like “Old Number Seven” and “Graveyard,” they have assembled a coalition of indie rock and folk music fans; and their punk spirit, along with some Santa Cruz history, has long pervaded their proudly raw presentation. That ethos helped the band connect with Nashville mastermind Buddy Miller for their 2013 project I’m A Stranger Here, which the Boston Globe praised for “a loose-limbed vibrancy that mimics the intensity of their live shows.”

The Devil Makes Three comprises Pete Bernhard, Cooper McBean, and Lucia Turino. The trio has been playing stomping folk for nearly 15 years and long before it started trending. As early roots influence in America grows, we can count on them not to sanitize its source material, or purge the suffering or the deviance or the repentance, from the stories they sing. “That’s what we think the best stuff is,” Pete says. “And it belongs there. To take it out is to destroy it.”
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