NO DEPRESSION SESSIONS AT MerleFest: The Dead South

No Depression set up the "studio" at the 37th annual MerleFest for a dozen sessions with legends and legends-in-the-making. The festival was founded in 1988 in memory of Doc Watson’s son Merle, and features “traditional plus” music, meaning a broad range of styles from the sweet falsetto harmonies of East L.A. to the high lonesome sounds of the Appalachian Mountains.

Saskatchewan folk-bluegrass quartet The Dead South stole away from their headlining duties to perform three songs, all of them from the current record Chains & Stakes. The guys are firing on all cylinders, road-tested and honed after the supporting tour for this record took them around the world, including around 100 performances across North America, Europe, Australia, and New Zealand in 2024 alone. Please enjoy this performance, and stay tuned for more No Depression x MerleFest '25 sessions in the pipeline.

Special thanks to everybody who made this series happen: MerleFest director Wes Whitson and his team of aces including artist relations manager Lindsay Craven, production managers Jim and Katherine, Carrie and Lauren for keeping us fat and happy, Danielle and the Victory Lap family for bringing us together in the first place, and of course to the team at Window World for making it all possible!

Setlist:
"Son of Ambrose"
"Father John"
"Tiny Wooden Box"

Personnel:
Nate Hilts - Lead vocals, guitar
Scott Pringle - Mandolin, vocals
Colton Crawford - Banjo
Danny Kenyon - Cello, vocals