With four distinct voices clustered around a single microphone, Darlingside effortlessly draw audiences into their lush musical world. David Fricke of Rolling Stone describes them as “a quartet with a rich line in acoustic textures and chamber-rock dynamics.” The band’s sound, characterized by classical strings, tight vocal arrangements, bluegrass and rock instrumentation, and smart lyricism, is the product of complete collaboration among the four close friends. The group has no frontman; instead, lead vocals are traded from moment to moment, and each song features a new combination of instruments and textures, pulling heavily from folk, retro-pop, barbershop, and chamber music.
Dave (bassist and former street musician), Don (guitarist, banjoist, and former boy alto), Auyon (classical violinist who studied mandolin in Ireland and Brazil) and Harris (classical cellist and guitarist) met and sang together as students at Williams College. Together, they are “a powerhouse of vocal, instrumental, and performing talent,” and their expansive sound is “astonishingly more congruent than the sum of its parts.”
Darlingside’s collaborative work with fellow Massachusetts-native Heather Maloney, which culminated in the 2014 Signature Sounds release “Woodstock,” garnered attention from both The New York Times and The Boston Globe. This summer, the band will step onto the national stage with appearances at High Sierra in Quincy, CA, Sisters Folk Festival in Sisters, OR, and Four Corners Folk in Pagosa Springs, CO.
Darlingside is…
Don Mitchell: guitar, vocals
Auyon Mukharji: mandolin, violin, vocals
Harris Paseltiner: cello, guitar, bass, vocals
David Senft: vocals, bass guitar, guitar