The Hive to host two touring bands

By Ben Olson
Reader Staff

It’ll be a two-for-one deal Friday, April 25, when The Dead & Down and Babes in Canyon take the stage at The Hive (207 N. First Ave., in downtown Sandpoint). Tickets are $5, and doors open at 7 p.m. with the show starting at 8 p.m.

The Dead & Down is an exploratory roots-rock five-piece band inspired by the vast landscapes and dramatic mountains of their Montana home.

With frontman Taylor Burlage’s introspective songwriting and dusty vocals, the band fluctuates somewhere between rust-flecked alt-county and swampy rock ’n’ roll, with the occasional detour into psychedelia and genre-defying experimentation.

The Dead & Down. Courtesy photo

“The Dead & Down have a sound that doesn’t fit into one bin,” said Bob Wall of KGVM Bozeman. “They combine elements of country, Americana and rock for a sonic experience that stays interesting. Their new song, ‘Switchbacks’ has a solid country-rock feel, but the break in the middle is a lot more akin to prog rock. It’s a combo that works.”

The band’s recently released sophomore album No Broken Bones was a strong follow-up to debut release Dead & Down in 2023. Both are available on streaming sites, as well as thedeadanddown.com.

Joining the Montanans will be synth-folk, moody pop duo Babes in Canyon.

Hailing from Seattle, Babes in Canyon crafts music that feels both nostalgic and of the moment, blurring the line between loungey folk and moody pop, adding a dash of vocal harmonies that stick with you long after the last bar of the song.

Amanda Ebert and Nathan Hamer of Babes in Canyon. Courtesy photo

Songwriters Nathan Hamer and Amanda Ebert continue to conjure their layered and articulate soundscapes, looping keys, beats and percussion in an electric live performance.

The band was born after a spontaneous writing session during a blackout when a severe windstorm stranded Hamer and Ebert in a remote cabin near Mount Baker. The pair has backed up that unique origin story with a catalog of music that journeys into the land of heavy beats, lyrics dripping with storytelling and synth-folk instrumentation with a twist.

“We try to create a sonic landscape of standing on a mountain just after a storm, when the first beams of sunlight start to break through the clouds,” said Hamer.

The band’s first two EPs and latest single have received praise from listeners, including publications Under the Radar, Magnet and Atwood Magazine. Meanwhile, Babes in Canyon is gearing up to release its first full-length album, The New Loud. Listen on streaming sites or visit babesincanyon.com to learn more.