Darden Smith’s New Album, “MARATHON” Out Sept 28th + US Tour Dates

Darden Smith’s New Album
MARATHON
Out Sept. 28th, 2010
+ EU & US Tour

“In the 20 years since the release of his debut album, Darden Smith has grownfrom just another promising modern country artist into a singer/songwriterblessed with an uncommon degree of intelligence, depth, and compassion.” – AllMusic Guide

“Blessed with a seemingly effortless melodic gift and one of the warmest,most penetrating vocal deliveries in American music, Darden Smith hassomehow eluded significant enduring attention in his two-decade career.” – NoDepression

“Texas singer-songwriter Darden Smith, incidentally hardly sounds or writes likethe typical Lone Star singer-songwriter.” – George D. Graham

“Smith performs these precise narratives in a charming voice that sounds like ayears-worn pair of jeans feels. It’s all quite beautiful and heartfelt and grown-up.”– Tucson Weekly

Visit http://www.dardensmith.com for complete Bio information.
Preview from Bio:

The place you never get to. With Marathon, his latest release, Darden
Smith evocatively captures the enduring allure in pursuing answers we
never find. Inspired by the stark, spacious mood of the American West,
Marathon is the most exceptional work to date in the Austin-based
musician’s 25-year career.

“For me, Marathon is a place of mind,” Smith says. “Somewhere I wanted
to go, and a place I could never reach. The desert reminds me of that:
It’s barren, and it’s harsh. You’re alone out there. It’s daunting –
but I’m drawn to it.” The elegant sweep of Marathon indeed evokes
images of a foreboding vista, from the opening of “Sierra Diablo” to
the aptly titled “75 Miles of Nothing.” And while it readily recalls
the desolate landscape of West Texas, Marathon is, ultimately, about
the landscape within.

Smith didn’t set out to write a richly contemplative album like
Marathon. After composing a performance work for the Austin Symphony
Orchestra in 1999, Smith, known primarily as a singer-songwriter,
wanted to challenge himself with another large symphony or theatre
piece. He tinkered with different approaches until settling in 2003 on
an idea for a song cycle, a set of songs that could later integrate a
series of monologues for the stage.

A lifelong Texas native with an affinity for its West, Smith turned
for inspiration to the work of James Evans, the renowned Marathon
photographer. He found further “visual touchstones” in road trips to
the Big Bend region and in his Austin studio, littered with rocks,
photographs, paintings and stacks of books on art and history.
Combined with his burgeoning interests in Buddhism, meditation and
mythology – at a time when he was also assessing his personal life and
creative direction – it made for a potent combination.
“The perfect cocktail,” Smith calls it. “I was dark. Searching. And
open to something new.”

US Tour Dates
*More dates are being added daily for EU & US. Please see http://www.dardensmith.com for complete schedule

AUG. 27
AUSTIN, TX
Continental Club

SEPT. 9
DECATUR, GA
Eddie’s Attic

SEPT. 11
CHARLOTTE, NC
The Evening Muse

SEPT. 30
AUSTIN, TX
Threadgill’s

OCT. 2
DENVER, CO
Swallow Hill

OCT. 7
OKLAHOMA CITY, OK
The Blue Door

OCT. 16
AUSTIN, TX
Fundraiser for Austin Zen Center
www.austinzencenter.org

OCT. 20
ASHLAND, VA
Ashland Coffee and Tea

OCT. 21
VIENNA, VA
Jammin’ Java

OCT. 22
NEWTOWN SQUARE, PA
The Burlap and Bean

OCT. 23
BETHLEHEM, PA
Godfrey Daniels Coffee House

OCT. 24
PIERMONT, NY
Turning Point Cafe

OCT. 25
NEW YORK, NY
The Living Room

OCT. 28
THE WOODLANDS, TX
Dosey Doe’s

OCT. 30
DALLAS, TX
Rock House Films
www.swankpresents.com

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