In sad but I suppose somewhat not unexpected news, long-running indie-rock band Murder By Death have decided to hang up their spurs later this year. Originally hailing from Bloomington, Indiana, Adam Turla and Sara Baillet and company spent a quarter-century plying their unique “spooky Western” musical wares before deciding recently that it was time to quit while they were ahead. Here’s an excerpt from band leader Turla’s statement:
We weren’t covered much in the press, we never had a song that had a lot of radio play, nothing ever went viral, we didn’t have a big social media presence, we never played a good festival spot where there was a sea of people in the audience, not once opened an arena or even a big shell auditorium show or tour. We constantly lost opportunities because of the band name and were somehow always treated like nobodies or yesterday’s news by most of the industry. But you, you gosh dang wonderful audience, managed to keep us growing, and we never had a career slump.
When we were our busiest — playing over 200 shows a year — we were chronically underpaid and always barely scraping by. But people kept writing us or telling us how much we mattered and kept showing up, and we started to believe it a little. And then over the years, we grew to a more manageable place and it seemed possible to carve out a niche in this massive, mean world of entertainment.
When I reflect on how good our career was and how lucky we were, I’m left with just gratitude for the small team of folks who have worked with the band and this grassroots fan following that has lifted us up the entire time. I feel like we owe any and all our success to you.
I never called us DIY — despite taking on much of the work ourselves — because there are always people behind the scenes helping: it takes a village. Thank you to the promoters, clubs, bands, managers, agents, artists, publishers, lawyers, publicists, crews, etc. etc. etc. who believed in us and everyone who made this work for so long. An enormous thank you to those of you who helped us through the many difficult periods.
Thank you for your relentless support, your passionate listening, and your generosity.
The band went on to say that they are presently working on a final album, and they also announced a fairly lengthy going-away tour that kicks off in Bloomington in June and wraps up in their newer hometown of Louisville, KY, in November. They’ll also continue on with their annual Cavern shows in Tennessee and the odd festival date down the road, so it’s not necessarily “good bye” good bye, but it’s pretty close, Dates and support acts are below and most tickets are now on sale.
06/07 — Bloomington, IN @ TBA
06/19 — Newport, KY @ Southgate House *
06/20 — Detroit, MI @ St. Andrew’s Hall *
06/21 — Toronto, ON @ The Axis Club *
06/22 — Montreal, QC @ Le Studio TD *
06/23 — Woodstock, NY @ Bearsville Theater *
06/25 — Norwalk CT @ District Music Hall *
06/26 — Portland, ME @ Portland House of Music *
06/27 — Boston, MA @ Paradise Rock Club *
06/28 — Brooklyn, NY @ Warsaw *
06/29 — Asbury Park, NJ @ Asbury Lanes *
07/01 — Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop *
07/02 — Cleveland Heights, OH @ Grog Shop *
07/04 — Pelham, TN @ The Caverns !
07/05 — Pelham, TN @ The Caverns *
07/10 — Baltimore, MD @ Ottobar *
07/11 — Washington, DC @ Black Cat *
07/12 — Philadelphia, PA @ Union Transfer *
07/13 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Mr. Smalls *
07/15 — Grand Rapids, MI @ The Pyramid Scheme *
07/16 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
07/17 — Chicago, IL @ Thalia Hall *
07/18 — Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre *
07/19 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Avenue
07/20 — Maquoketa, IA @ Codfish Hollow Barnstormers *
09/27 — London, UK @ Islington Hall
10/15 — St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall ^
10/16 — Lawrence, KS @ Liberty Hall ^
10/17 — Denver, CO @ Ogden Theatre !
10/18 — Aspen, CO @ Belly Up !
10/19 — Salt Lake City, UT @ Depot !
10/21 — Boise, ID @ Treefort Music Hall !
10/23 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile $
10/24 — Seattle, WA @ The Crocodile !
10/25 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall !
10/26 — Portland, OR @ Revolution Hall $
10/28 — Berkeley, CA @ UC Theatre !
10/29 — Los Angeles, CA @ Regent !
10/30 — Solana Beach, CA @ Belly Up !
10/31 — Pioneertown, CA @ Pappy & Harriet’s !
11/01 — Phoenix, AZ @ Van Buren !
11/02 — Santa Fe, NM @ Tumbleroot !
11/05 — Dallas, TX @ The Kessler Theater !
11/06 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk !
11/07 — Austin, TX @ Mohawk !
11/08 — Houston, TX @ Heights Theater !
11/10 — Tampa, FL @ The Orpheum
11/11 — Orlando, FL @ The Social #
11/13 — Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
11/14 — Asheville, NC @ Grey Eagle#
11/15 — Louisville, KY @ Headliners
* w/ Laura Jane Grace
^ w/ William Elliott Whitmore
! w/ AJJ
$ w/ Shawn James
# w/ BJ Bahram
Brent Johnson
I grew up (teenager)with Chon and his brothers. He was a dream that I shared with the 95482. If anyone was going to bust though it would be Chon. I remember going the the Wilson’s brothers half pipe being super self-conscious.
Those boys were so amazing. When Ben pasaway… Was awful and Chon being his soul brother makes this so difficult..
We love you beautiful people …