DARK SO GOLD

About the Artist

Rising out of the prairies of the Midwest, The Pines have emerged as one of the most impressive young indie-rock/Americana bands to emerge from Minneapolis, joining the ranks of such notable acts as The Jayhawks, Bob Dylan and The Replacements. Like these Twin Cities legends, The Pines weave together many musical styles, creating their own unique sound.

Fronted by Iowa singer-songwriters David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey, The Pines actually began their musical partnership in Arizona, where they both lived in a Mexican barrio and first began playing together. The son of Greg Brown's producer and sideman Bo Ramsey, Benson was reared on folk and blues music and continues to let those influences shine, even on louder electric songs. David also had a deep love for traditional music, and together the two of them started crafting songs that evoke the ancient, while incorporating newer rock and pop sounds.

Committing to a musical career together, Benson and David returned to their Midwestern roots and moved to Minneapolis, where they slowly grew their band to include banjo player Michael Rossetto (Spaghetti Western String Co.), drummer J.T. Bates (Michel Portal, John Gorka), bassist James Buckley (Ed Harcourt, Daniel Johnston, Dosh) and Benson's brother Alex Ramsey on keyboards.

Creating quite a buzz around the Twin Cities and across the Upper Midwest, The Pines caught the attention of acclaimed indie label Red House Records and signed with them in 2007, releasing their breakout album Sparrows in the Bell, named one of the top roots releases of the year by Q Magazine. The Pines wowed audiences at the 2008 South By Southwest (SXSW) and were named one of the musical highlights by CMT.com. They followed up this success with Tremolo, an album that garnered rave reviews in magazines like Rolling Stone and got airplay on tastemaker stations such as KCRW and The Current. It landed them coveted performances on Daytrotter.com and Bob Harris' popular BBC show, winning them new fans across North America and Europe. A great live act whether performing as an acoustic duo or as a full rock band, The Pines' devoted cult following and has led them to share the stage with such diverse acts as Jolie Holland, The Arcade Fire, Iris DeMent, Mavis Staples, Bon Iver and The Holmes Brothers.

Rising out of the prairies of the Midwest, The Pines have emerged as one of the most impressive young indie-rock/Americana bands to emerge from Minneapolis, joining the ranks of such notable acts as The Jayhawks, Bob Dylan and The Replacements. Like these Twin Cities legends, The Pines weave together many musical styles, creating their own unique sound.

Fronted by Iowa singer-songwriters David Huckfelt and Benson Ramsey, The Pines actually began their musical partnership in Arizona, where they both lived in a Mexican barrio and first began playing together. The son of Greg Brown's producer and sideman Bo Ramsey, Benson was reared on folk and blues music and continues to let those influences shine, even on louder electric songs. David also had a deep love for traditional music, and together the two of them started crafting songs that evoke the ancient, while incorporating newer rock and pop sounds.

Committing to a musical career together, Benson and David returned to their Midwestern roots and moved to Minneapolis, where they slowly grew their band to include banjo player Michael Rossetto (Spaghetti Western String Co.), drummer J.T. Bates (Michel Portal, John Gorka), bassist James Buckley (Ed Harcourt, Daniel Johnston, Dosh) and Benson's brother Alex Ramsey on keyboards.

Creating quite a buzz around the Twin Cities and across the Upper Midwest, The Pines caught the attention of acclaimed indie label Red House Records and signed with them in 2007, releasing their breakout album Sparrows in the Bell, named one of the top roots releases of the year by Q Magazine. The Pines wowed audiences at the 2008 South By Southwest (SXSW) and were named one of the musical highlights by CMT.com. They followed up this success with Tremolo, an album that garnered rave reviews in magazines like Rolling Stone and got airplay on tastemaker stations such as KCRW and The Current. It landed them coveted performances on Daytrotter.com and Bob Harris' popular BBC show, winning them new fans across North America and Europe. A great live act whether performing as an acoustic duo or as a full rock band, The Pines' devoted cult following and has led them to share the stage with such diverse acts as Jolie Holland, The Arcade Fire, Iris DeMent, Mavis Staples, Bon Iver and The Holmes Brothers.