Southern Tenant Folk Union

This ensemble is led by the formidable playing of ex-Coal Porter Pat McGarvey assisted by a quintet of skilled and experienced purveyors of folk, bluegrass and country. It is a collection of songs that have a traditional feel yet is infused with an urgency and passion which is sometimes missing from modern interpretations or facsimiles of the form. The vocals are heartfelt and complimentary and the instruments given room to breathe in the light and sparse production.

The songs are mainly written by McGarvey but all carry a collective sense of unity and some are blessed with a real power to move. “The Cold Flagstone” being a case in point where stately restraint and a vocal thick with lamentation evokes a real sense of loss and desolation which finishes almost as a Negro spiritual. This is song writing of real quality.

Check them out www.myspace.com/southerntenantfolkunion