Formed in 2009, the Civil Wars is no stranger when it comes to folk rock and bluegrass music. Civil Wars comprises of the duo of John Paul White and Joy Williams, both of whom contributed as the singers and songwriters for the group. Both Williams and White had their first interaction with each other in Nashville, TN during a songwriting session. As the two started performing together, Civil Wars rose to national prominence in 2009 when one of their songs Poison and Wine was featured on one of the episodes of famous TV series Grey’s Anatomy.
The duo attended the songwriting session back in 2008, where they also performed live together for the first time. There they were spotted by a renowned producer Charlie Peacock, who agreed upon recording their material at Peacock’s Art House Studio. Both White and Williams performed together once again as they opened for Will Hoge. The duo performed at Eddie’s Attic and this was their second performance together after Nashville Music Venue. The performance was also recorded and was later released by the name of Live at Eddie’s Attic, as a free internet download.
Civil Wars received a major break of their career when their song Poison & Wine was aired on one of the episodes of a renowned TV series Grey’s Anatomy. The song garnered the attention of many listeners, and it soon became a massively searched song over the internet. The duo capitalized on that opportunity and released a Poison & Wine EP which comprised of four tracks. On iTunes Singer/Songwriter Top Albums Chart, the EP peaked at #4 spot and was subsequently selected as the Best Singer/Songwriter Album of the year 2010.
Later the group was called upon The Tonight Show with Jay Leno where they performed their song called Barton Hollow. That performance combined with the addition of their song Poison & Wine on Taylor Swift’s playlist, helped them get the kind of attention they needed.
The group released its debut studio album titled The Barton Hollow in February 2011. With success and exposure that they had earned prior to the release of the album, the Civil Wars was able to make their album most downloaded one on iTunes. It also ranked at #2 spot on Folk Albums chart while it took the #1 rank on Billboard Digital Albums Chart. Only a few days after the release of their album, the duo decided to perform at the Belcourt Theatre in Nashville, where they performed in front of the sold out crowd.
Later the group also made a music video for their song Barton Hollow , which received substantial amount of airplay on CMT and VH1. They received support from both the networks at the same time, which made them the first rising act to do so. Later for their video of Barton Hollow, the group also received a CMT Award nomination.
The Duo made its second appearance on the Tonight Show with Jay Leno in 2011 where they made, Steven Tyler of Aerosmith, one of their fans. The Civil Wars also opened for Adele in 2011, after they were selected by her to perform with her. Also in May 2011, the Civil Wars received a nomination for Americana Music Association Award for the categories of Emerging Artist of the Year and Duo/Group of the Year. In the month of May, they also performed on a charity concert in Florence Alabama and later in June they appeared on Morning Becomes Eclectic, a LA based radio station show. The group made its festival debut when they performed at the Newport Folk Festival in June 2011.
With more than 150,000 copies sold of their debut album, The Civil Wars’ reputation is only growing with each passing day. And if you’ve been exposed to their music already, then you’re going to want to get your hands on the
Civil Wars tickets right now.
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