When the alt-folk band Darlingside attended the recent Folk Alliance International conference in Kansas City, they expected to play a few shows and make some industry contacts, just like they usually do at these types of events. So it was quite the surprise when they came away from the conference with the award for “Artist of the Year.”
“We were really honored and it was totally unexpected,” said Don Mitchell, guitarist and banjo player for the band. “We didn’t even know there was going to be an awards show! It was really humbling.”
If you are familiar with Darlingside’s soaring harmonies, smart lyrics and superb musicianship, then you know that this award was well-deserved. The Cambridge-based quartet, which in addition to Mitchell includes bassist Dave Senft, classical violinist and folk mandolin player Auyon Mukharji and cellist/guitarist Harris Paseltiner, creates music that includes elements of folk, rock, chamber pop and classical. But at the core of its sound is the stunning manner in which these four musicians blend their voices together.
The group is currently on tour in support of its latest album “Birds Say,” which was released in October. Darlingside recently teamed up for 25 shows with the Virginia-based band The David Wax Museum, which is led by David Wax and his wife Suz Slezak, is known for its lively brand of music that merges Mexican and American folk music. It is touring in support of its album “Guesthouse.” This album finds the group moving beyond this Mexican-inspired sound, dabbling with synthesizers, layers of percussion and other experimental sounds.
Darlingside and The David Wax Museum tour will make a stop at the Shea Theater in Turners Falls on Saturday, April 2, at 7:30 p.m. Not only do both of these bands push their music far beyond the confines of the folk label, but the members of both bands used to reside here in the valley during their formative years.
The four members of Darlingside met and formed the band when they were students playing together in an a cappella group at Williams College. They all later moved to a house in Hadley where they recorded “Pilot Machines” in 2012. When I tell Mitchell that I will always think of Darlingside as a local band, he said he felt the same way, because the band’s time living and playing here in western Massachusetts helped them become the band they are today.
“By living together in the house, that is where the seeds of a more collaborative writing process really started to take hold,” Mitchell told me. “Since then, even though we now live apart, we sort of started that process of letting each other in on ideas before they are fully formed so that things are from more of a group voice than an individual voice.”
When the band was living in Hadley, they were a five-piece group that included drummer Sam Kapala. Ultimately deciding that the touring life wasn’t for him, Kapala left the band in 2013. His departure coincided with the group’s decision to place more emphasis on its vocals.
“We wanted to focus more on harmonies,” Mitchell said. “We had met in an a cappella group and it felt right when we clicked into that. This all happened around the same time that Sam was leaving and that led us to something that we are obviously very happy with.”
All four members of Darlingside stand in a semi-circle and sing into one microphone, blending their voices together so at times you can’t even tell how many singers you’re hearing. There is no lead singer in the group and every song is written by all four band members.
“I think that is what makes it fun because there isn’t pressure on any one person to be the front man or the chief songwriter,” Mitchell said. “Everybody feels validated because everybody’s ideas are on all the albums.”
“Everybody is in service of writing the best songs and it’s really the best way to go about doing things,” Mitchell continued. “It is the kind of band we want to be, where we are all singing, and all writing, and we are all feeling respected by each other and those outside the band. We share the weight equally.”
This collaborative spirit shines through on the band’s latest album “Birds Say,” a collection of 13 impeccably crafted and arranged songs that hearken back to late 1960s folk music, yet still manage to sound contemporary. The album has won rave reviews, which Mitchell said the band is blown away by. “Birds Say” was three years in the making as the band struggled to capture the connection they have with their audience onstage into the studio. Also during that time they released an EP, “Woodstock,” with local singer-songwriter Heather Maloney that was well received and resulted in some touring with her.
At the time of our conversation, the tour with David Wax hadn’t yet begun, but Mitchell was looking forward to it.
“David Wax was just coming to prominence in Western Mass. around the time we were starting up in there,” Mitchell said. “We even played a couple of shows together. I remember one was at the Taste of Amherst. We looked up to them and they gave us some advice back then.”
“We haven’t crossed paths since then and we are both on the same label, Thirty Tigers, that’s what started the conversation about this tour,” he continued. “It seems like a great fit and now we are really excited. We are looking forward to some collaborative moments in the show — plus we are really excited to play the new Shea Theater.”
www.darlingside.com and www.davidwaxmuseum.com
The Shea Theater is at 71 Avenue A in Turners Falls. The show sold out as this column went to press. More information on shows at the Shea can be found at: ticketfly.com
Sheryl Hunter is a music writer who lives in Easthampton. Her work has appeared in various regional and national magazines. You can contact her at: soundslocal@yahoo.com