Most of the country began hearing about Shovels & Rope when the duo’s second CD, “O’ Be Joyful,” became one of 2012-2013’s most acclaimed Americana albums.
But the Charleston, S.C.-based duo of Cary Ann Hearst and Michael Trent have a longer relationship with Atlanta.
“I think Atlanta in particular has been specifically important to our growth as a band,” Hearst said. “Because it’s so close to Charleston, before we were touring full time, we were able to at least get to Atlanta, Athens, Birmingham and so forth; that kind of tight, little circle around Charleston.
“And we would play at the Star Bar for years and years. That’s also where we met some of our fellow travelers. So I think Atlanta holds a great deal of emotional and financial value to us.”
When Hearst and Trent began making trips to Atlanta for duo shows, they weren’t sure exactly what path they would take with their music. That became clear through chance, circumstance and talent.
They pursued separate solo careers even as Hearst and Trent (who married in 2009) made their first album as a duo in 2008. The title of that album? “Shovels & Rope.”
They continued with their solo careers, but there was not much happening for them, Trent said.
They started doing duo shows because they enjoyed their rag-tag approach to their music — Hearst and Trent switch off playing guitars, drums, harmonicas and other instruments, sometimes testing the limits of what their four hands and feet will allow them to play. Their sound gained enough of a following in Charleston to make a financial go.
“It was a matter of, to a certain degree, survival,” Hearst said. “We realized we could stay on the road longer working together than divided. Forget making it, we were long past the idea, you know, (that) rock and roll angels were going to come down and give us everything our hearts desired. We just were perfectly satisfied selling our own records because we realized we could do it and we could make a living to support ourselves.
“And people were, I think, intrigued more so by what we were doing as a duo than what we were doing individually.”
One artist who had discovered the duo was Hayes Carll, who invited Hearst and Trent to open one of his tours in 2010. The duo has been touring nonstop since then.
They didn’t pause long to make “O’ Be Joyful.” Some of the album was recorded at their Charleston home in 2011, but other tracks were done in motel rooms on tour and even in their van. The latter setting was where guest violinist Amanda Shires recorded her parts for the album.
Hearst and Trent capture the freewheeling mix of country, blues, bluegrass, gospel and rock that has come to define their music. Songs like “Birmingham” (a loose tale of how the couple met and began making music together) and “Lay Low” are twangy country tunes that sound like they could have been birthed in the Appalachians. “Keeper” and “Tickin’ Bomb,” with their crisp electric guitar, inject a good bit of rock into the duo’s country sound. The woozy horns of “Hail Hail” bring a bit of New Orleans revelry to this country-rocker.
They are working on their next album and are taking a homemade approach to recording that’s similar to “O’ Be Joyful.” The coming album sounds a bit friskier than its already lively predecessor.
“There’s a frenetic kind of kinetic propulsion of music that’s coming that we think is exciting,” Hearst said. “But that’s all I will divulge.”
Trent said he and Hearst also like to keep things spontaneous with their shows.
“It’s always changing, really,” Trent said of the set list. “We try to keep it fresh, both for the audience and for ourselves so that nobody gets bored. We pull songs from the two Shovels & Rope albums we have out now, as well as our solo things we’ve done in the past. So we’ve got a lot of material to pull from. We try to keep it spicy.”
