Nashville-based South for Winter are performing at Gisborne's Smash Palace this weekend as part of their New Zealand tour.
Nashville-based South for Winter are performing at Gisborne's Smash Palace this weekend as part of their New Zealand tour.
Nashville-based indie folk trio South for Winter will take the stage at Gisborne’s Smash Palace on Saturday to play their signature happy folk and murder ballads as part of a New Zealand tour.
Their back story reads like a movie plot.
New Zealand musician Nick Stone met Colorado singer-songwriter Dani Cichone (now Dani Stone) as volunteers building greenhouses in the Andes Mountains in South America.
The pair wrote their first song together on a Peruvian rooftop and after years pursuing separate music projects on opposite sides of the world, they moved to Nashville in 2017 and formed a duo under the name South for Winter.
Two soon became three when they met Alex Stradal, a classically-trained cellist who completed an eclectic blend of instrumentation and vocals that has become a characteristic of their music.
While it is early days in their tour, Nick Stone said the response so far had been “absolutely incredible”.
“As an independent band without a large promotional budget, we rely on good old word of mouth to get folks to shows.”
They sold out their first show at the Whangateau Folk Club north of Auckland and had “an incredible evening” at the TSB Festival of Lights in New Plymouth.
“We have been welcomed back with open arms, which feels amazing,” Stone said.
With 28 shows across both islands over the next few weeks, they will get to see the landscapes that have heavily influenced their music.
“There’s no place like home and I love a good Kiwi road trip,” Stone said.
Describing their music as a mix of cello/guitar instrumentals and airy acoustic duets, the band perform and compose in the realm of folk, blues, jazz and rock.
Instrument-wise, people can expect to hear three-part harmonies, intricate finger-picking guitar, classically trained cello, mandolin, tambourine and suitcase stomp.
After their beginnings as a duo playing in Christchurch, Nick and Dani Stone made the decision to pursue their music in Nashville, Tennessee – the home of country music.
“Moving to Nashville has been a wild experience,” Nick Stone said. ”Every bar had some of the greatest musicians you’ve never heard of, and they’re all trying to make it. They say Nashville is ‘a drinking town with a music problem’, meaning it’s a very saturated music market ... so after being a fulltime musician in Christchurch for years prior, I had to learn how to make cocktails and sling drinks.”
These days, though, he has worked his way into being a fulltime music producer, booking agent, international touring artist and session guitarist.
“With Nashville being a tough market to crack into music-wise, especially as an originals band, we’ve focused on growing both inside and outside of the city through touring.”
Indie-folk trio South for Winter (from left) Nick and Dani Stone and Alex Stradal.
“We feel very fortunate to explore the world through the artistry of our music and love what we do.”
People can expect to hear music from their debut EP How The Mountain; first album Luxumbra; and latest album Of Sea and Sky.
Of Sea and Sky, released last May, has already reached hundreds of thousands of listeners and sold out shows across North America, New Zealand and Europe.
At the Gisborne gig, they will team up with the North East Band, who will open for them.
The North East Band comprise New Zealand Country Music Association award-winning singer Rawina Gordon, David Gordon, Jasmine Taare, Johnny Matete, Arana Tanepo, Waata Taukamo and Mark Foley.
“It should be a really nice pairing,” Nick Stone said. “With their music and ours, you can expect this show to be an unforgettable evening of country, Americana and folk.”
