For four years, songwriter Jesse James DeConto and band members have been leading barroom sing-alongs back home in Durham, North Carolina, with songs bridging the personal and the political: Sam Cooke’s “A Change is Gonna Come,” “What the World Needs Now,” made famous by Dionne Warwick, and countless songs by The Beatles, Dylan, Guthrie and Seeger. Their latest record WHERE THE WILDEST SPIRITS FLY captures the sing-along vibe, with a choir joining in on the catchy choruses. International critics hailed the classic references. AMERICANA UK called the songs “anthemic.” “Recommended for fans of Wilco and The Band,” said HERE COMES THE FLOOD. MYSTIC SONS celebrated a “quirky indie-pop delight.” Here in the states critics heard echoes of Neil Young, Sharon Van Etten and Bright Eyes. “The Pinkerton Raid celebrates the human race as one community,” observed THE ALTERNATE ROOT, “[with] vignettes that search for meaning in the length of a song.” The title of the new album is a lyric from the song “Thin Places,” conjuring the Celtic idea of an earth charged with spirit. 

vocals, guitars / Jesse James DeConto

drums, trumpet / Scott McFarlane

Bass / Jon Depue