​Rising voices of Folk and Americana set to come together in Fargo

By Payton Berger

Folk, Roots, and the newer term, Americana, all seem to apply to a style of music that is often overlooked in modern times. Maybe it’s a preconceived notion of simplicity and homeliness that might deter people’s interest. A somewhat understandable notion when there are so many different types of music and musical ideas that are vying for your ears’ attention.

Folk and Americana music have a lot more depth and character than they are given credit for. They seek to draw from the rich history of America and the roots of its traditions. It is with that tradition that gives the music depth to describe human emotions and vast textures of living. That depth can be overlooked at times because of the patience it takes to get there. It takes longer to create that emotion than some of the catchy, and quickly forgotten, beat-driven tunes on the radio.

It is from that deep inkwell of American traditional roots that bands Dead Horses and The Lowest Pair draw ink to paint their pictures. Dead Horses is a three-piece band out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, currently touring with a special guest. Their lead singer, Sarah Vos, has a beautiful singing voice that shows the depth of her influence and tradition. Vos grew up singing in choirs, which translates into a fullness and richness in her voice. Listening to her sing might seem like going to church, but she creates so much more. She sharesa full spectrum of ideas and emotions that can connect a person to the the American landscape, as well as the human experience. Dead Horses also includes guitar player Peter Raboin. Raboin plays with skills that are virtually unmatched. Speed and precision are definitely important to a genre that might cross over into Bluegrass territory from time to time, but Peter can play as light and delicate as he can fast and hard. Daniel Wolff grounds the other two by playing the double bass. Wolff adds the deepness of tone needed to emphasize the full spectrum of the band’s sounds. Dead Horses are now touring with drummer Jay Spanbauer. The addition of Spanbauer shows Dead Horses’ movement into a more percussive sound.

The Lowest Pair originated as a banjo duo, which leads to a more folksy sound than the Dead Horses. The Lowest Pair hasn’t strayed much from their original inception. They’ve only added more depth and texture by playing more French harp (harmonica) and resonator guitar. Half of The Lowest Pair consists of Kendl Winter, who describes their musical location as, “a beautiful place to be, in between these rich, old, traditional sounds and modern. That's where we come from, and that's how we sound interpreting that music.” Winter’s delightful and quirky voice is balanced by Palmer T. Lee’s,which wrings with dirty and difficult emotions that may have been born in a Northern Minnesota iron mine. As a duo The Lowest Pair comes from two places. Winter hails from Olympia, Washington and Palmer from Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Dead Horses and The Lowest Pair both have new albums, which is good news for listeners as they can hear both bands growing. The Lowest Pair released two albums earlier this year, titled "Uncertain as it is Uneven” and "Fern Girl and Ice Man.” Dead Horses’ newest album is titled “Cartoon Moon.” The main difference from their previous albums is the addition of percussion. Ken Coomer, previously of Wilco and Uncle Tupelo, played drums and worked as a producer on the album. The album isn’t due for release until September, but physical copies will be available at live shows (wink wink).

Both groups are less than five years old, so the growth they show is delightful to hear as they lend their own voices to the American songbook. Dead Horses and The Lowest Pair are only playing two shows in July together. Both groups have busy touring schedules and were only available for the pairing on two dates this time around. Vos says, “I absolutely believe that touring with other artists helps push boundaries and inspire growth. It's fascinating to look at bands from the ‘60s and ‘70s and see how they all affected one another. I feel that I've seen that happening regionally here in the scene, which has brought me a lot of joy. Music and art are about expression, and are collaborative in the most subtle, and sometimes unconscious, ways.” Sometimes people look backwards at previous generations and think they were better than the present. Yes, there was a lot of great music written in the ‘60s and ‘70s, but there is a lot of great music being written now. Music that has just as much character and expression as that of the past, and that’s a wonderful thing to watch evolve.