“Like a passer-by on a summer drive through the country, I have had the privilege of monitoring the Tillers’ own growth throughout the years. Coming in with fresh eyes to each gig, I have enjoyed the fruits of the rapid advancement of their musical garden of delights. Don’t get me wrong, Mike Oberst and Sean Geil’s talent were present from the beginning. But with the cultivation of endless (and no doubt thankless) tours and pub dates, these two “brothers in melody” were suddenly tapping into progressively deeper and darker tillage. Put plainly: they just kept getting better and better.
Like no other group I’ve ever heard, the Tillers are able to break your heart with an intangible, timeless pain. Combined they harmonize like the Celestial Monochorde of old, awakening once again the ancient muses to strum the heartstrings of man. Apart, they voice a pained, hoarse timbre that hearkens to their own personal losses…losses we all sweetly suffer vicariously through their melody.
The metaphor of gardening and growth is not lost on those who hear The Tillers. The arabesque spread of their burgeoning tones resemble the health of summer plantlife, spring rains and abundance. It comes as no surprise that singer/banjoist Mike Oberst is himself a farmer (there is something to be said for real life, agrarian experience and its natural bi-product of folk music.)
Knuckled roots weaving through the Appalachian coffins of old souls buried in veins of coal…The Earth and Her cycles of life and death is the running theme here. But isn’t it the ultimate theme? Whether the modern ear is turned deaf to these truths or not, we all must heed the holler that the Tillers intone.
Nose to the ground, hand on the plow, hard work and harmonies. Take it from an old fan, if you are reading this now, you are the lucky one. For this is fertile ground indeed.”
-Col. J.D. Wilkes, Th' Legendary Shack Shakers
Tennessee Shines Radio Show is performed for a live audience every Wednesday at 7pm at Boyd's Jig & Reel musical pub in Knoxville's historic Old City. The show is broadcast live on WDVX FM and WDVX.com. Tickets are $7 plus applicable fees in advance, available at http://jigandreel.ticketleap.com/ or $10 at the door starting at 6pm.