The Delta Saints – Bones : New CD plus upcoming Tour

[Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Neil Young], Nashville’s Sputnik Sound studio provided a ghostly, psychedelic atmosphere for the recording of Bones, yielding a sound uniquely their own. Stripping their roots/blues sound down to its essence, The Delta Saints’ second full-length effort expands on that sound and explores influences such as Jack White, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses and Led Zeppelin.

“Loud & Proud’s history is rooted in releasing new music from celebrated veteran artists.  But in some instances, such as with The Delta Saints, we can’t resist signing exceptional new talent” said Tom Lipsky, President of Loud & Proud Records. “This band impresses in every way with their original style of songwriting, fantastic individual and collective musicianship and electrifying live performances.  Additionally, they have built a legion of loyal fans from several years of relentless touring across the country as well as from successful touring of international markets on their own.  With their tough work ethic and global solid foundation, The Delta Saints will undoubtedly earn respect and success for years to come, with Loud & Proud as their long time label partner.”

Ringel adds, “We are extremely excited to announce our signing with Loud and Proud Records. They are a great company who believes in good music and hard work. We’re honored to have them behind the release our new album Bones and can’t wait to get this record in your speakers.”

The Delta Saints are a global touring band, having spent the last eight years playing the U.S. and Europe averaging about 200 shows per year, organically growing their audience fan by fan, city by city, country by country.  They have made several major festival appearances in the U.S. at Wakarusa (which they played again this year), Summer Camp, Harvest, The Ride, Summerfest and The Simple Man Cruise.  A testament to their mixed appeal, they have opened for such diverse acts as Blackberry Smoke, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Taj Mahal, Dickey Betts and Michael Franti & Spearhead.  Having a large international fan base as well, The Delta Saints have toured Europe a total of six times, selling out countless venues and playing hundreds of shows in Spain, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Germany, as well as several festivals in Holland (Moulin Blues, Ribs and Blues), Belgium (Gevarenwinkel) and Germany (Grolsch Blues Fest).

Loud & Proud Records will release Bones in North America through RED Distribution (a division of Sony Music Entertainment) and earMUSIC will release it in the rest of the world.

U.S. TOUR DATES

Wed Jun 10 – Pensacola, FL @ Vinyl Music Hall
Thu Jun 11 – Hattiesburg, MS @ Marlins Grill
Fri Jun 12 – New Orleans, LA @ Parish at House of Blues
Sat Jun 20 – Chicago, IL @ Wicker Park’s Green Music Fest
Fri Jun 26 – Raleigh, NC @ Kings Barcade
Sat Jun 27 – Kill Devil Hills, NC @ Port O Call
Mon Jul 06 – Crested Butte, CO @ Alpenglow
Tue Jul 07 – Denver, CO @ Larimer Lounge
Thu Jul 08 – Mountain Village, CO @ Sunset Concert Series
Sat Jul 11 – San Luis Obispo, CA @ Seven Sisters Craft Beer And Music Festival
Tue Jul 14 – Colorado Springs, CO @ Black Sheep
Thu Jul 15 – Omaha, NE @ Slowdown
Fri Jul 16 – Dubuque, IA @ The Busted Lift
Sat Jul 17 – Painesville, OH @ Painesville Party in the Park
Sun Jul 18 – Indianapolis, IN @ Joker’s Live
Fri Jul 24 – Chattanooga, TN @ Camp House
Sat Jul 25 – Macon, GA @ Bragg Jam at The Hummingbird
Sat 8/1 – Mammoth Lakes, CA @ Mammoth Festival of Beers and Bluesapalooza
Mon 8/3 – San Diego, CA @ Soda Bar
Tue 8/4 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Mint
Fri 8/7 – Seattle, WA @ Barboza
Sat 8/8 – Portland, OR @ Dante’s
Mon 8/10 – Missoula, MT @ The Real Lounge
Tue 8/11 – Bozeman, MT @ Zebra Cocktail Lounge
Wed 8/12 – Billings, MT @ Pub Station
Fri 8/14 – Fargo, ND @ Dempsey’s Public House
Sat 8/15 – Williston, ND @ Light Up The Wild West
Mon 8/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ 7th Street Entry
Wed 8/19 – Madison, WI @ The Frquency
Thu 8/20 – Chicago, IL @ Beat Kitchen
Fri 8/21 – Lansing, MI @ Mac’s Bar
Sat 8/22 – Akron, OH @ Musica
Sun 8/23 – Pittsburgh, PA @ Club Cafe
Tue 8/25 – New York, NY @ Mercury Lounge
Wed 8/26 – Philadelphia, PA @ MilkBoy
Thu 8/27 – Washington, DC @ DC9
Fri 8/28 – Columbus, OH @ Rumba Cafe

EUROPEAN TOUR DATES:

Wed 9/9 – Amsterdam, Holland @ Radio 6 live session
Thu 9/10 – Verviers, Belgium @ Spirit of 66
Fri 9/11 – Alkmaar, Holland @ Poppodium Victorie
Sat 9/12 – Zoetermeer, Holland @ Boerderij
Sun 9/13 – Koln, Germany @ Die Kantine
Tue 9/15 – Hamburg, Germany @ Hafenklang
Wed 9/16 – Bordesholm, Germany @ Albatros
Thu 9/17 – Krefeld, Germany @ Kulturrampe
Fri 9/18 – Isernhagen, Germany @ Blues Garage
Sat 9/19 – Worpswede, Germany @ Music Hall
Sun 9/20 – Breda, Holland @ Breda Barst Festival
Tue 9/22 – Ashaffenburg, Germany @ Colos-Saal
Wed 9/23 – München, Germany @ Garage Deluxe
Thu 9/24 – Kufstein, Austria @ Kulturfabrik
Fri 9/25 – Lyss, Switzerland @ KuFa
Sat 9/26 – Winterbach (Stuttgart), Germany @ Salierhalle
Sun 9/27 – Petershagen, Germany @ Petershagen Bluesnacht
Tue 9/29 – Fürth, Germany @ Kofferfabrik
Thu 10/1 – Oostende, Belgium @ De Post
Fri 10/2 – Beauvais, France @ Ouvre Boîte
Sat 10/3 – Limoges, France @ Espace Confluences
Sun 10/4 – Turnhout, Belgium @ OC De Djoelen
Thu 10/29 – Stockholm, Sweden @ Underbara
Fri 10/30 – Avesta, Sweden @ Bjurfors
Sat 10/31 – Oslo, Norway @ Buckley’s
Sun 11/1 – Göteborg, Sweden @ Sticky Fingers
Tue 11/3 – Malmö, Sweden @ Grand Öl & Mat
Thu 11/5 – Amsterdam, Holland @ Paradiso
Fri 11/6 – Den Bosch, Holland @ W2
Sat 11/7 – Olten, Switzerland @ Schützi Olten
Sun 11/8 – Beaumont en Veron, France @ Temps des Crises
Tue 11/10 – Bilbao, Spain @ Stage Live
Wed 11/11 – Zaragoza, Spain @ Sala Lopez
Thu 11/12 – A Coruña, Spain @ Mardi Gras
Fri 11/13 – Vigo/Cangas, Spain @ Salason
Sat 11/14 – Aviles, Spain @ Centro Niemeyer
Sun 11/15 – Leon, Spain @ Espacio Vias
Tue 11/17 – Valladolid, Spain @ Porta Caeli
Wed 11/18 – Madrid, Spain @ Sala Caracol
Thu 11/19 – Estepona, Spain @ Louie Louie
Fri 11/20 – Alicante, Spain @ Sala Caja Negra de Las Cigarreras
Sat 11/21 – Barcelona, Spain @ Music Hall
Sun 11/22 – Valencia, Spain @ Rock City

On The Delta Saints’ new album, Bones, their first for Loud & Proud Records, the Nashville-based band have stripped their roots/blues sound down to its essence, having rearranged the elements into something uniquely their own.  Steeped in rock ‘n’ roll’s building blocks – country, R&B, soul and gospel – The Delta Saints’ second full-length effort explores influences like Jack White, The Black Keys, My Morning Jacket, Band of Horses and Led Zeppelin.   Producer/engineer/mixer and Third Man Records alum, Eddie Spear [Jack White, Arctic Monkeys, Neil Young] provided a ghostly, psychedelic atmosphere at Nashville’s Sputnik Sound studios, yielding a sound unlike anything they have created before.

“We got to the point where what we were recording and playing had veered from what we were listening to and loving on our turntables, which can lead to discontent,” said Louisiana-born singer/lyricist Ben Ringel, who co-founded the band almost eight years ago with fellow Belmont University student, Kansas native bassist David Supica.  Soon after, they were joined by Tennessee-bred guitarist Dylan Fitch and later, after a health scare with the band’s former harmonica player, enlisted Louisville resident and keyboardist, Nate Kremer, who was added to the lineup only two weeks before a two month long European tour.

Taking a novel approach of writing songs spontaneously in the studio, The Delta Saints were challenged to create in the moment and as a result, Bones is their most adventurous effort yet.  The album is a collection of eclectic songs, beginning with The White Stripes-meets-Led Zeppelin fuzz-toned garage-rock blast of “Sometimes I Worry.”   The spare, spooky strains of “Butte la Rose” tell the band’s tale of a Louisiana town purposely flooded and displaced five years ago to save New Orleans.  The Grapes of Wrath drama of “Dust,” based on Ringel’s grandfather, an East Kansas farmer, builds to a primal wail at nature with a stunning coda in which Dylan Fitch’s guitar drops out and Kremer’s B3 organ provides the climax.  The title track, “Bones” features hoodoo organ riffs and African-influenced trance music, which came from listening to the Sahara desert African groove of Niger’s Tuareg guitarist Omara “Bombino” Moctar and Mali’s Tinariwen.  The grindhouse honky-tonk chain gang chants of “Heavy Hammer” celebrates the work ethic in no uncertain terms, a call for unity in the wake of Ringel’s frustration about getting stuck in the rat race and feeling trapped by some of life’s mundane tasks.  “Berlin,” the first song they recorded after adding Nate on keys, started out as an instrumental penned in the title city while on tour.  It eventually metamorphosed into a country twang intro and a prog-rock jam.  Bones is a complete work veering between despair and apocalyptic dread.

“We’re trying to push ourselves forward to do something more modern, but at the same time incorporating where we come from,” explained Ringel.

“It was incredible to be able to write a song on the spot and immediately hear what it sounded like,” added Supica. “It was a great way to capture the magic right when you come up with an idea, preserving that raw element.  We were used to playing a song for months on the road before we recorded it. Still, on the flip side, it was absolutely terrifying to sit in the studio watching the clock tick and waiting for a song to come out. That’s where (producer) Ed Spear came into play; he was so good at keeping us pointed in the right direction.”

“This record was made out of both necessity and desire. We needed to be fulfilled and surprised by music again, and we also needed to fulfill that love of writing and recording again.”

The Delta Saints have independently released two EPs (2010’s Pray On and A Bird Called Angola), a full-length album (2012’s Death Letter Jubilee) and a live disc (2014’s Live at Exit/In). They have spent the last eight years touring the US averaging almost 200 shows per year, organically growing their audience, fan by fan, city by city.   Major appearances include several festivals including Wakarusa, Summer Camp, Harvest, The Ride, Summerfest and The Simple Man Cruise.  A testament to their mixed appeal, they have opened for such diverse acts as Blackberry Smoke, Robert Randolph & The Family Band, Taj Mahal, Dickey Betts and Michael Franti & Spearhead.

The Delta Saints have also have a large international fan base having toured Europe a total of six times, selling out countless venues and playing more than 200 shows in Spain, Sweden, France, Switzerland and Germany, as well as several festivals in Holland (Moulin Blues, Ribs and Blues), Belgium (Gevarenwinkel) and Germany (Grolsch Blues Fest).

With all that they’ve accomplished as a hard-working group on their own, The Delta Saints have earned their graduation to industry veteran Tom Lipsky’s Loud & Proud Records (which has been the home of Rush, Lynyrd Skynyrd, KISS, Robert Plant, Rob Zombie, Lenny Kravitz and The String Cheese Incident, among others).

“Don’t look so tired, my dear,” sings Ringel in Bones’ closing track, “Berlin,” echoing the band’s progress. “We may be bruised, but the day is almost here.”

“It’s hard to see progress when you’re in the middle of things,” said Supica about The Delta Saints’ ambitions. “We try to take stock every six months or so and look back from where we’ve come, from eating at McDonald’s and sleeping on people’s floors to staying at a Motel 6 and graduating to La Quinta. We mark our success by the hotel chain where we’re staying. When we get to Marriott, we know we’ve made it.”

Bones proves The Delta Saints are well on their way to making that reservation.