Tune Up: Don’t be fooled by the junkyard backdrop; the musical horsepower of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent is at full-throttle with their recent release, Little Seeds.
Rope’s Anchor: Despite extensive touring, Hearst and Trent put down their roots, and their song tracks, at their John’s Island home studio.
All In: As young troubadours on the road with their breakout album, O’ Be Joyful, the couple lived, toured, and made do in their humble minivan.
Nickel Toss: The tune “Buffalo Nickel” on Little Seeds marries frantic lyrics with the more drawn-out refrain, “You and I (working around each other),” which pretty much sums up the creative partnership of a couple parenting a toddler, writing, recording, performing, and figuring out the music business, all at the same time.
A midnight in-store performance at Grimey’s New and Preloved Music in Nashville, on the eve of the release of Swimmin’ Time in 2014
On the Road with @shovelsnrope on Instagram: Fayetteville Roots Festival, August 2016
Australian tour with Shakey Graves in 2015.
“Sunset on the bus at The Gorge,” Washington State, 2014.
On tour in Brussels, November 2013.
Simple gratitude at Charleston Music Hall, January 2014.
Onstage at Fall For Greenville, October 2014.
With JD McPherson’s bassist, Jimmy Sutton, at the Gorge, 2014.
Playing for the hometown crowd at Charleston Music Hall, January 2014
Sittin’ Time: Townes, the unofficial third, and faithful, member of Shovels & Rope, hits the road with the band, and steals the show when he can, like when he was the subject of a New Yorker “Talk of the Town” column (“A Dog’s Life”) in September 2013.
Morning Song: “She walked into the kitchen/where most mornings would begin…” starts the tune “Mourning Song”—one of the more somber tunes on Little Seeds, reflecting Hearst and Trent’s year marked by emotional highs and lows—welcoming a baby, caring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s, and losing a dear friend.
A Shovels & Rope Round-Up: “It ain’t what you got, it’s what you make,” claim the lyrics to “Birmingham,” the first single from their debut album, O’ Be Joyful, which earned distinction as the 2012 Song of the Year by American Songwriter magazine. Following are examples of what they’ve made over the years, both as independent artists and as a duo:
Cary Ann Hearst: Dust and Bones (Cary Ann Hearst, 2006)
Cary Ann Hearst: Lions and Lambs (Shrimp Records, 2011)
Michael Trent: The Winner (Shrimp Records, 2010)
Shovels & Rope: Swimmin’ Time (Dualtone Music, 2014)
Busted Jukebox, Vol. 1 (Dualtone Music/Shrimp Records, 2015)
Little Seeds (New West Records, 2016)
Documentary/DVD: The Ballad of Shovels and Rope, filmed and produced by The Moving Picture Boys, premiered at the 2014 Cleveland International Film Festival and won the Ground Zero Tennessee Spirit Award for best feature at the Nashville Film Festival in 2014 and Best Feature Documentary at the Port Townsend Film Festival, also in 2014.
Winning big at the Americana Music Awards in 2013
A stage selfie with the crowd at the legendary Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 2014
