![Image](https://sp-ao.shortpixel.ai/client/to_webp,q_glossy,ret_img,w_1250,h_812/https://wjct.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/SR_Press1_LeslieRyannMcKellar-e1718286651946.jpg)
Charleston’s Shovels & Rope—that is, married couple Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent—have announced their sixth studio album, Something Is Working Up Above My Head (Sept. 6, Dualtone Records), and shared its first two singles, the story-forward “Colorado River” and “Love Song From a Dog.” The folk-punk duo have also unveiled a fall tour in support of their new record.
“Colorado River” is a compelling initial preview of the album, a swaggering, nasty murder ballad that boasts a combination of gnarled electric guitar, punishing drums, howled gang vocals and resonant piano clangs that would make Jack White’s ears perk up. Hearst and Trent sing from the perspective of a killer looking back on a childhood full of dirty deeds (“I can still remember how it felt / When the air got still on the Colorado River”) and hiding the damning evidence in the river’s depths.
“Love Song From a Dog” has a similarly strong narrative, but couches it in much gentler instrumentation, with only acoustic strums to accompany Heart, Trent and Gregory Alan Isakov’s emotive vocal harmonies. The lyrics maintain a firm grip on the heartstrings throughout, as the track’s canine narrator recalls their birth and adoption before detailing their devotion to their two-legged caretaker: “I lay down dead every time you leave / I can barely breathe / I lock my eyes on the clearing in the trees / Till you return to me.”
Shovels & Rope will perform at a handful of summer festivals, including late July’s Newport Folk Festival, before kicking off their North American tour in September. Starting with a Sept. 11 stop in Charlotte, North Carolina, the duo will work their way across the continent, with stops in Brooklyn, Toronto, Chicago, Louisville, their hometown of Charleston, Los Angeles, Portland, Seattle and Denver before wrapping with a Dec. 14 show in Aspen, Colorado. You’ll find their complete tour slate down below.
Something Is Working Up Above My Head is now available for preorder.
Shovels & Rope Tour Dates:
June 14 – Gulfport, MS – iMPCAC
June 22 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest
June 27 – Black Mountain, NC – Pisgah Brewing Company
July 13 – Whitefish, MT – Under the Big Sky Festival
July 26 – Newport, RI – Newport Folk Festival
Sept. 11 – Charlotte, NC – Neighborhood Theatre
Sept. 13 – Brooklyn, NY – Music House of Williamsburg
Sept. 14 – Fort Hill, PA – Deer Valley Folk Festival
Sept. 15 – Ardmore, PA – Ardmore Music Hall
Sept. 17 – Portsmouth, NH – 3S Artspace
Sept. 18 – Cambridge, MA – The Sinclair
Sept. 20 – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
Sept. 21 – Ferndale, MI – The Magic Bag
Sept. 22 – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
Sept. 24 – St. Paul, MN – Amsterdam
Sept. 25 – Des Moines, IA – Wooly’s
Sept. 27 – Omaha, NE – The Waiting Room
Sept. 28 – Maquoketa, IA – Codfish Hollow
Sept. 29 – Bloomington, IL – The Castle Theatre
Oct. 1 – Louisville, KY – Headliners Music Hall
Oct. 2 – Knoxville, TN – Bijou Theatre
Oct. 4-5 – Charleston, SC – Music Farm
Dec. 4 – Phoenix, AZ – Crescent Ballroom
Dec. 5 – Solana Beach, CA – Belly Up Tavern
Dec. 6 – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
Dec. 7 – Menlo Park, CA – The Guild Theatre
Dec. 9 – Portland, OR – Wonder Ballroom
Dec. 10 – Seattle, WA – Neumos
Dec. 12 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Commonwealth Room
Dec. 13 – Denver, CO – The Gothic Theatre
Dec. 14 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up Aspen
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JME Live Music Calendar
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