New York, NY (Top40 Charts / Company) Drawing inspiration up through layers of North Carolina soil, maverick stringband Mipso embrace the present day while continuing to explore their local legacies on their new album Old Time Reverie, to be released via Robust Records on October 2, 2015. Spawned from the ongoing renaissance currently enriching and expanding the traditional vocabularies of old time and bluegrass music, Mipso put time-honored tools to work on new terrain, with evocative, intoxicating results. Years of constant touring have tightened their attack, lending a new degree of authority and cohesion to their sound, while the addition of fiddler and vocalist Libby Rodenbough to the existing lineup of Jacob Sharp (mandolin), Joseph Terrell (guitar), and Wood Robinson (bass), has added new colors to an already rich palette.
When Mipso's 2013 debut, Dark Holler Pop, rose to #8 on Billboard's Bluegrass charts, the success surprised a lot of people - including the band themselves. "Well, we didn't think so many people would embrace it," laughs mandolin player Jacob Sharp, "and we definitely didn't know we were a bluegrass band." Two years on, Old Time Reverie - produced by Mandolin Orange's Andrew Marlin - reflects the quartet's continued musical and personal growth with their gripping and mature sophomore release. Its songs encompass and attempt to reconcile the contradictions of growing up in an evolving South, artfully careening from desperation to hope over the course of eleven atmospheric, engrossing original songs.
The songs of Old Time Reverie paint morally nuanced portraits of Mipso's complex and evolving native landscape. "By being on the road 200 days a year," guitarist Joseph Terrell explains, "we've come to understand how we fit into this idea of the new South - not the south of old stereotypes, but a really intriguing, nuanced place that's educated and progressive, while also embracing its traditions".
"Being young, progressive artists living in the middle of North Carolina is inherently complicated," adds Libby Rodenbough, "because we're trying to position ourselves within our family, state, regional histories - while being true to all the understanding of the world we've gained over the past year. This album contains a lot of songs that deal with moral ambiguity and the struggles that come with forging an identity - which has a lot to do with the fact that we're from and continue to live in North Carolina."
Others - listeners, artists, fellow travellers - have taken note of the young band's sincerity and success. "Mipso has toured many a mile," wrote Tony Award-winning author, composer, and musician Bland Simpson, "and whether one calls their music 'renegade traditional' or 'dark holler pop,' it scarcely matters. Theirs is the deeply soulful sound of North Carolina at its striving, yearning best, their straight-from-the-heart songs delivered with high artistry and powerhouse precision in every voice, every note."
The release of Old Time Reverie will be supported by extensive national touring. Full dates at press time are below, but for the most up-to-date available listing, visit www.mipsomusic.com.
MIPSO TOUR DATES:
August 20 - Boone, NC - Appalachian
State University Legends
August 21 - Winston-Salem, NC - The Garage
August 22 - Knoxville, TN - Barley's Knoxville
August 23 - Nashville, TN - City Winery Nashville
August 26 - Owensboro, KY - International Bluegrass
Music Museum
August 27 - Lakeside, OH - Lakeside Chautauqua
August 28 - Lexington, KY - Natasha's Bistro & Bar
September 3 - Cheraw, SC - Theater on the Green
September 4 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle (seated show)
September 5 - Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle
September 6 - Strasburg, VA - Appaloosa Festival
September 9 - Northampton, MA - Iron Horse
Music Hall - with Kristin Andreassan
September 10 - Somerville, MA -
Thunder Road
Music Club & Restaurant - with Dan Mills
September 11 - New York, NY - Mercury Lounge - with Dan Mills
September 12 - Washington, DC - Gypsysally's - with Dan Mills
September 13 - Philadelphia, PA - World Cafe Live - with Dan Mills
September 17 - Ashland, VA - Ashland Coffee & Tea - with Skylar Gudasz
September 19 - Charlottesville, VA - The Southern Cafe and
Music Hall - with Skylar Gudasz
September 20 - Charleston, SC - The Charleston Pour House - with Skylar Gudasz
September 22 - Athens, GA - The Foundry
September 23 - Decatur, GA - Eddie's Attic
September 24 - Asheville, NC - Isis Restaurant and
Music Hall (seated show) - with Front Country
September 25 - Asheville, NC - Isis Restaurant and
Music Hall - with
Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellys
September 26 - Wilkesboro, NC - Carolina In The Fall
September 27 - Greensboro, NC - Doodad Farm
October 2 - Raleigh, NC - International Bluegrass
Music Association World of Bluegrass
October 15 - Kernersville, NC - Paul J. Ciener Botanical Garden
October 16 - Harmony, NC - Carolina Jubilee
October 17 - Kill Devil Hills, NC - First Flight High School
October 23 - Cedarburg, WI - Cedarburg Performing Arts Center
October 28 - Minneapolis, MN - The Cedar Cultural Center
October 29 - Chicago, IL - City Winery
Chicago Riverwalk
November 5 - Okoboji, IA - Pearson Lakes Art Center
November 6 -
Orange City, IA - Unity Christian Knight Center
November 7 - Manhattan, KS - Murdock House Concert Series
November 8 - Wichita, KS - Barleycorn's
November 11 - New Orleans, LA - Hi Ho Lounge
November 12 - Birmingham, AL - Saturn Birmingham
November 13 - West Jefferson, NC - Ashe County Arts Council
November 14 - Oriental, NC - The Old Theater - Oriental, NC
November 19 - Mount Olive, NC - Kornegay Historic Assembly Hall
November 20 - High Point, NC - High Point Theatre - with Kristin Andreassen
November 21 - Charlotte, NC - Neighborhood Theatre - with Kristin Andreassen
www.mipsomusic.com
