The Deadfields

Dance In The Sun
Atlanta, GA
(Self-released)

Georgia natives The Deadfields are a band of musicians determined to create music that exists without pretense. Dance In The Sun is the band’s debut release and is a folksy, country-tinged album, an album that fits perfectly within contemporary music’s current folk revival. The record is energetic with strong chord progressions and sunny, if somewhat formulaic, compositions.

“Carolina Backroads” starts the album off with a burst of pop-infused, roots revival country. The odd mesh of twangy guitar chords and catchy pop beats sets the stage for a slew of songs teetering between the two genres. There are darker moments, such as those shared on “Till The Next Time” and hopeful ballads conveyed through lively beats, the likes of which are best showcased on “Dandelions.”

With clean lines and clear equations used to form melodies and harmonies, The Deadfields have created a debut that walks a safe line. It is brimming with emotion and honesty, fueled by catchy hooks and enjoyable progressions, but they seem to know their current limits and are happy to reside within them.

Engineered by Jeff W. Gardner, Corey Chapman and Kevin Sellors

www.thedeadfields.com - Performer Magazine

It all started with Geoff and Jeff.

Two years ago, Atlantians Geoff Reid and Jeff Gardner, singer/songwriters and guitar players both, threw in together after separate, unsatisfactory stints in big-hat country bands.

"It was a great experience, and it was also an eye-opening experience," says Reid, "to the ugly commercial side of mainstream country.

"Just being on the inside of it, and seeing what the record labels were expecting the songwriting to sound like. It eventually drove a wedge into the creative process for me. After doing it for about five years, and not really being able to get to that next level. To me, the next level required a little bit of soul-selling."

For Gardner, coming off his second commercial-country disaster, finding a kindred spirit in Reid was a game-changer. "It's interesting that once those bands came to their demise," he explains, "we both had this realization at the same time: Let's form our own thing and not try to conform to what's selling, or what's supposed to be the mainstream. Let's do our own thing, and hopefully make our big impact that way."

Their own thing started as an acoustic duo, morphing over time into a five-piece band called the Deadfields. Playing two Savannah shows this week (at Congress Street Social Club and the Flying Fish), the Deadfields will remind you of the Train Wrecks, American Aquarium, and — on the fully professional side — the old '97s, the Avett Brothers and Drive-By Truckers.

Yes, it's alt-rock Americana, hard–driving and rural-tinged, with a big twang and a big beat.

What gives the Deadfields an edge is their tight vocal harmonies —although Reid is, technically, the lead singer, this band brings the harmony home, like vintage Eagles, Poco or Pure Prairie League.

The other musicians are Chase Alger (bass, vocals), Corey Chapman (pedal steel, dobro, banjo) and Brandon Russell Jay (drums, vocals, keys).

Gardner, who also picks a mean mandolin, is proud of the vocal comparisons to the Eagles, a longtime favorite band. He even played in an Eagles tribute group for a while.

"I've always been a fan of vocal harmonies; I did chorus in high school and stuff like that," he says. "Geoff and I found out that we sing together flawlessly, like right off the bat. But it was also nice to find other members in the group who had the ability to sing harmony, and sing it well."

Reid's influences include an adolescence filled with hard rock, followed by a gradual infatuation with the twangy melodicism of bands like Whiskeytown and Wilco.

"Part of me wishes that I could sound just like that," he stresses. "I don't, because I'm not trying to copy. But I know that some of that influence is coming out, and I wish I could make people feel the same way that I felt when I listened to those kind of records."

With a fine debut album, 2012's Dance in the Sun, the Deadfields have been touring the East Coast for an admittedly smaller demographic than they'd encountered during their country days.

"But," Reid smiles, "it's been a beautiful and supportive, music-loving demographic."

Since those early days, it's been an organic, one-step-at-a-time process.

"The goal of it was just to be true to ourselves, to write from the heart, and no more of this trying to please everybody all the time," Reid says. "Let's please ourselves, and hopefully the people that like the kind of music that we like are going to like our music."
- Connect Savannah - Bill De Young

It all started with Geoff and Jeff.

Two years ago, Atlantians Geoff Reid and Jeff Gardner, singer/songwriters and guitar players both, threw in together after separate, unsatisfactory stints in big-hat country bands.

"It was a great experience, and it was also an eye-opening experience," says Reid, "to the ugly commercial side of mainstream country.

"Just being on the inside of it, and seeing what the record labels were expecting the songwriting to sound like. It eventually drove a wedge into the creative process for me. After doing it for about five years, and not really being able to get to that next level. To me, the next level required a little bit of soul-selling."

For Gardner, coming off his second commercial-country disaster, finding a kindred spirit in Reid was a game-changer. "It's interesting that once those bands came to their demise," he explains, "we both had this realization at the same time: Let's form our own thing and not try to conform to what's selling, or what's supposed to be the mainstream. Let's do our own thing, and hopefully make our big impact that way."

Their own thing started as an acoustic duo, morphing over time into a five-piece band called the Deadfields. Playing two Savannah shows this week (at Congress Street Social Club and the Flying Fish), the Deadfields will remind you of the Train Wrecks, American Aquarium, and — on the fully professional side — the old '97s, the Avett Brothers and Drive-By Truckers.

Yes, it's alt-rock Americana, hard–driving and rural-tinged, with a big twang and a big beat.

What gives the Deadfields an edge is their tight vocal harmonies —although Reid is, technically, the lead singer, this band brings the harmony home, like vintage Eagles, Poco or Pure Prairie League.

The other musicians are Chase Alger (bass, vocals), Corey Chapman (pedal steel, dobro, banjo) and Brandon Russell Jay (drums, vocals, keys).

Gardner, who also picks a mean mandolin, is proud of the vocal comparisons to the Eagles, a longtime favorite band. He even played in an Eagles tribute group for a while.

"I've always been a fan of vocal harmonies; I did chorus in high school and stuff like that," he says. "Geoff and I found out that we sing together flawlessly, like right off the bat. But it was also nice to find other members in the group who had the ability to sing harmony, and sing it well."

Reid's influences include an adolescence filled with hard rock, followed by a gradual infatuation with the twangy melodicism of bands like Whiskeytown and Wilco.

"Part of me wishes that I could sound just like that," he stresses. "I don't, because I'm not trying to copy. But I know that some of that influence is coming out, and I wish I could make people feel the same way that I felt when I listened to those kind of records."

With a fine debut album, 2012's Dance in the Sun, the Deadfields have been touring the East Coast for an admittedly smaller demographic than they'd encountered during their country days.

"But," Reid smiles, "it's been a beautiful and supportive, music-loving demographic."

Since those early days, it's been an organic, one-step-at-a-time process.

"The goal of it was just to be true to ourselves, to write from the heart, and no more of this trying to please everybody all the time," Reid says. "Let's please ourselves, and hopefully the people that like the kind of music that we like are going to like our music."
- Connect Savannah - Bill De Young

Ready for some more live music? How about a double-shot of some sweet Southern tunes that mix well with bourbon or beer?

You’re in luck, because The Deadfields make their way to the area for back-to-back shows this week.

The troubadours from Atlanta are scheduled for the Flying Fish Bar at 7 p.m. Aug. 8 and Congress Street Social Club at 9 p.m. Aug. 9.

The Deadfields’ inception, a little more than two years ago, was the result of a couple of guys who decided they were not going to follow the musical portage of some of their contemporaries.

Frontman Geoff Reid had been playing in a country band for five years and found himself at the crossroads.

“It sort of left a bad taste in my mouth, because of the way it ended,” Reid said. “Going down this road of mainstream industry expectations.

“That was pretty much the only way of taking the next step. We basically decided to not completely sell our souls and to stop what we were doing, in regards to the country music scene we were trying to fit into.”

Along with electric guitarist Jeff Gardner, Reid decided they weren’t going to “try and write for any particular audience.”

The result was a mixture of country, Americana and folk, with a little rock ‘n’ roll. All of this is reminiscent of the recent neo-folk movement, a sound that’s been heralded by bands like the Avett Brothers, Mumford and Sons, Fleet Foxes and the Civil Wars.

Reid and Gardner added Chase Alger (bass), Corey Chapman (steel, banjo, dobro) and Brandon Russell Jay (drums) to complete the lineup and add to the vocal harmonies.

“We were just going to drink some beer and jam, and see what happens,” Reid said. “That became our founding principal. To write and express ourselves honestly and from the heart. And see what happens, organically.”

In May 2012, the band debuted its freshman album, “Dance In The Sun.”

They’ve been touring on the album ever since, as well as writing their second EP, “Often Wrong Never In Doubt,” which is shaping up for a fall release. The band has about 25 original songs they work into a fluid set list.

“Carolina Backroads,” the opening track of “Dance In The Sun,” does well to capture the band’s essence of good ‘ole country, rebellious rock ‘n’ roll and the sweet love affair of folk. But the band wasn’t sure of its sound or what genre they neatly fit into. So, they made up their own label.

“We tried to figure out for a while what our sound was,” Reid said. “For a little while, we were just like, well here’s our songs. Now what do they sound like? They sort of sound like folk rock. They sound like Americana. Some of them sound like country. Some of them sound more like rock ‘n’ roll. So we went through lots of different labels. We finally just made one up for ourselves, called “Rockicana,” which gives us a lot of freedom.”

This budding trend of independent music-making is at the soul of rock ‘n’ roll and folk. It’s a search for good storytelling that is free of capitalistic rules, and in recent years, free from the over-regulated and often manufactured sound of radio. It’s an attitude evident in The Deadfields’ music that will resonate with a wide spectrum of music fans.

“It’s been really cool finding, what I refer to as, music lovers.” Reid said. “We’ve met so many people that have become fans of our sound because it’s moving something within their souls. It’s touching a lot of people, in a way that I’ve never experienced with other avenues of music.” - Savannah Morning News - Joshua Peacock

http://www.carolinamixer.com/performers/the-deadfields.html - Carolina Mixer

http://www.carolinamixer.com/performers/the-deadfields.html - Carolina Mixer

While not newcomers to the music business, The Deadfields are newly formed and new to making authentic music borne of the love for the songs and enjoying them for their own sake. This may not seem revolutionary, but for a collection of musicians who swore off “the business” of making music to fit audience demographics, genuine expression and pleasure through songs have been their own coup d’etat. Their self-produced record, Dance in the Sun, begins to show their break from their past, but to truly appreciate how engaging and infectious The Deadfields’ music is, you really must see them live. They have already written more than an album’s worth of new songs, and hopefully will move more closely to capturing the energy and joy of their live shows.
Lead singer of The Deadfields, Geoff Reid, shared his personal path through music soon after we met at one of my favorite music festivals, Albino Skunkfest. The Greenville, South Carolina native had an early epiphany that he was not going to be the next Jimi Hendrix, but pursued music anyway. Soon after learning to play and wanting to write his own songs, Reid immersed himself in Neil Young’s lyrics and the raw emotion of Athens, Georgia band Five Eight, both of whom expanded his realm of music beyond traditional commercial radio fare. Through college in the music-rich city of Charleston, SC, Reid enjoyed seeing bands and finally worked up the nerve to perform at a few open mic nights, but his journey through pop country music left him empty and unfulfilled creatively.
With the rapid assembly of The Deadfields, through the original friends, to a third member, and ultimately through their friends, to the current five-person lineup, the guiding mission is to be honest and have fun. The songs they are developing as a group are as much to make music that they would like to listen to as it is to have an audience, and the fans are finding them, in many ways more easily and rapidly than through the former “contrived band” experiences of the various members. The Deadfields are still molding together, but out of mutual appreciation for genuinely creating together, shared through hundreds of band emails of songs and snippets each week. www.TheDeadfields.com - www.CountryFriedRock.org

A debut slap. A fresh, invigorating sound that reconciles with country music, the real and genuine, a far cry from the feeble sounds of Nashville. The Deadfields, quartet that comes from South Carolina and Georgia, you can safely alongside the Turnpike Troubadours for the approach, to Zac Brown Band and the Randy Rogers band for the vigor and soundness of an enjoyable repertoire. Geoff Reid (vocals, guitar and harmonica), Jeff Gardner (vocals, guitar and mandolin), Brandon Markert (vocals and percussion) and Corey Chapman (pedal steel, dobro and banjo) to create a combo that shows enormous potential and safety unusual. "Dance In The Sun" is an album that you listen to in one breath, involves us and drags us through eleven songs definitely above average, compact, catchy, just perfect for those who love the country music that is intertwined with the sounds of American and folk-rock. "Carolina Backroads" is a 'killer song' which is also their manifesto and their roots. Then away with a selection that does not show the moments of pause, always with the tension maintained high. "Be Your Fool", "Dandelions" a duet with banjo and harmonica and a rhythm section supported, "Till The Next Time" masterful, "Blood On My Guitar Strings" where Deadfields seem to be the 'little brothers' company, and Randy Rogers , "Where I'm From" heartfelt and emotional, "Into Your Arms" with a 'train time' contagious, "We Stick Together" with the powerful voice of Tiffany Leigh Blalock and the final duet in "Gasoline" where it is vented passion to rock, these are the songs that serve as the backbone of an album that will listen for long. Highly recommended! - Lonestar Time - Remo Ricaldone

Translated from Google


At the end of this month's round-up we will hear from a band that perhaps should be the standard for what should be regarded as a proper party music. The Dead Fields sounds like they have hatched a plan to take over the world with a festive country rock. Harmonies and backing vocals that smacks of Californian '70s country rock at its best, melodies and choruses that are so catchy and melodious that it is impossible to turn down the sound of this band. It is almost too much of a good, but only almost. All this you get words on the album Dance In The Sun, an album that oozes enthusiasm and quality of this Atlanta-based band. The Dead Fields is made up of experienced musicians from Georgia and South Carolina who came together last spring with the intention of just having a lot of fun together and write and perform meaningful music. When they describe their music as "Foot Stompin ', Hand Clappin', Knee Slappin ', Ruckus Rowsin' Folk Rock", it is impossible to argue about it and it is meaningful in this type of music is to give people a good experience at both concerts, recording and dance floor. I think The Dead Fields is able to reproduce perfectly.


My favorites on the album: "Dandelions," "Blood On My Guitar Strings," "Lay The Blame" and "Carolina Backroads" - No Deal Music

Outside of DNC the best performance of the day was from The Deadfields. A perfect mix of roots, country and Americana the Southern band delivered a set of tunes that made it hard for anyone there to stand still. A friend told me that they were “better live than on the album” and after seeing them live she was exactly right. That says a lot because their recordings are pretty damn good. - Atlanta Examiner - Chris Martin

While not newcomers to the music business, The Deadfields are newly formed and new to making authentic music borne of the love for the songs and enjoying them for their own sake. This may not seem revolutionary, but for a collection of musicians who swore off “the business” of making music to fit audience demographics, genuine expression and pleasure through songs have been their own coup d’etat. Their self-produced record, Dance in the Sun, begins to show their break from their past, but to truly appreciate how engaging and infectious The Deadfields’ music is, you really must see them live. They have already written more than an album’s worth of new songs, and hopefully will move more closely to capturing the energy and joy of their live shows.

Lead singer of The Deadfields, Geoff Reid, shared his personal path through music soon after we met at one of my favorite music festivals, Albino Skunkfest. The Greenville, South Carolina native had an early epiphany that he was not going to be the next Jimi Hendrix, but pursued music anyway. Soon after learning to play and wanting to write his own songs, Reid immersed himself in Neil Young’s lyrics and the raw emotion of Athens, Georgia band Five Eight, both of whom expanded his realm of music beyond traditional commercial radio fare. Through college in the music-rich city of Charleston, SC, Reid enjoyed seeing bands and finally worked up the nerve to perform at a few open mic nights, but his journey through pop country music left him empty and unfulfilled creatively.

With the rapid assembly of The Deadfields, through the original friends, to a third member, and ultimately through their friends, to the current five-person lineup, the guiding mission is to be honest and have fun. The songs they are developing as a group are as much to make music that they would like to listen to as it is to have an audience, and the fans are finding them, in many ways more easily and rapidly than through the former “contrived band” experiences of the various members. The Deadfields are still molding together, but out of mutual appreciation for genuinely creating together, shared through hundreds of band emails of songs and snippets each week. www.TheDeadfields.comSongs in this radio episode include:

The Deadfields Dance in the Sun: “Gasoline,” “Dandelion,” and “Be Your Fool”
Steve Earle “Feel Alright”
The Corduroy Road “Smokehouse Whip”
The Damnwells “Jesus Could Be Right”
Rayland Baxter, “Driveway Song” from his upcoming August 2012 anticipated release on ATO Records
Willie Nelso (with Lukas Nelson) covering Pearl Jam’s “Just Breathe”
Seven Handle Circus “Cruel World”
Pickin’ on Neil Young – A Tribute “Needle and the Damage Done”
- Country Fried Rock

The Deadfields stomp and sing a blend of bluegrass, Americana, country and rock in deeply Southern tent-revival shows that have brought near-sellout crowds. - The Handlebar - Greenville SC

Are you sitting down? Are you sitting down on a porch overlooking your acres of farmland? Is there a jar full of half and half in your hand? No? Well shoot, doesn't that sound just SUPER? The best part is that to experience that level of American euphoria, you don't need to buy a farm or mix iced tea and lemonade. All you need to do is put on "Carolina Backroads", a song from the Atlanta-based, Americana four-piece The Deadfields.. You'll be melting into a rocking chair in no time.
Nick @ SonicBids - SonicBids.com Newsletter

Are you sitting down? Are you sitting down on a porch overlooking your acres of farmland? Is there a jar full of half and half in your hand? No? Well shoot, doesn't that sound just SUPER? The best part is that to experience that level of American euphoria, you don't need to buy a farm or mix iced tea and lemonade. All you need to do is put on "Carolina Backroads", a song from the Atlanta-based, Americana four-piece The Deadfields.. You'll be melting into a rocking chair in no time.
Nick @ SonicBids - SonicBids.com Newsletter

Sound like a fairy tale? Not really. It’s just another of Albany’s great musicians doing their thing and making waves in the music scene.

Albany native Brandon Markert, currently calls Atlanta his home but he and ‘The Deadfields’ are staying busy playing all over the South East. When they are in Atlanta you can often find them rocking out at Peachtree Tavern, where they play a cover tunes by bands like ‘The Go-Go’s', ‘Hansen’, and perennial favorite ‘Milli Vanelli’ HAHA, JUST KIDDING!

Seriously, The Deadfields are hard to describe musically. My best effort might be something like Rockin Americana, NewGrass, Toe Tapping, Convertible Driving on a Beautiful Day, Solo Cup Drinking, Feel Good, MUSIC! Seriously, how do you classify music that you can dance the Dougie OR swing into a Two Step around the dance floor, ON THE SAME SONG?

I dont know what to call it, except really good music that’s going to have everyone at Big Rax on the dance floor and having a great time. I’ve included some songs and videos at the bottom of this article so you can get a sample of these guys. Once you listen to them, I know you are going to want to come out to Big Rax, Saturday June 9th and give them a listen! - Albany Uncovered

The Deadfields' "Dance In The Sun" gives you a little of everything, for all type of music lovers, from country to rockabilly and bluegrass. Truly one of Atlanta and Georgia's most talented bands. If you need a cd for the summer, this is it. Great for a drive through the moutains or laying on the beach. - Dan Seals - Georgia-Country.com

The Deadfields' "Dance In The Sun" gives you a little of everything, for all type of music lovers, from country to rockabilly and bluegrass. Truly one of Atlanta and Georgia's most talented bands. If you need a cd for the summer, this is it. Great for a drive through the moutains or laying on the beach. - Dan Seals - Georgia-Country.com

Dobro, pedal steel, banjo, guitar, mandolin and harmonica all comingle with bass and drums on The Deadfields’ lead-off CD, Dance In The Sun, and “Carolina Backroads” brilliantly encapsulates what The Deadfields are about, musically. - Direct Current Music / A Taste of Triple A

So I think we have a real ripper for you this time around. I hope you like it.

You can listen here

Bands this time include:

the Deadfields

- www.410media.com

I took off from doing a show last week, it was a short notice kind of thing. But thanks for coming back this week to see what I have in store for you. It's kind of a chill-out week for me, so we're just going to sit back, hang out with Boris, and listen to some great music.

Download this episode HERE

Music in this episode:

- Carolina Backroads AND Dandelions by The Deadfields
(from Dance In The Sun)
www.TheDeadfields.com - www.americanaroots.com

There's some great music coming out of North Carolina lately. (Hopefuly that takes some of the sting out of Duke's loss to Lehigh!) We've already shared NC bands The Great Unknowns and Possum Jenkins with you. Now meet The Deadfields. If their debut album, Dance in the Sun, doesn't put a smile on your face, I don't know what will. With Alabama-inspired vocal harmonies and richly textured and uptempo melodies like Jake Owen at his giddiest, Dance in the Sun is a modern, countrified, Ode to Joy. Maybe that's because half the songs are about love. Not lust, not love gone wrong, but full on, swept out of your senses, even when it's wrong it's right, LOVE. In "Be Your Fool" they sing, "If I ain't all that, and you won't call me your man, well girl that's cool. I'll be your fool." Even the bad times and mistakes are redeemed by love. In "Into Your Arms" they sing, "every turn that I missed, I thought it was a waste of my time. But falling down was a gift, somehow showing me the way...into your arms." The love fest continues with the clever "Lay the Blame" and the sweet "Dandelions," and culminates in "We Stick Together." Avoiding cliches (both lyrically and musically) The Deadfields plumb the often mined territories of love and come out with gold where so many others come out with coal. They then turn their sights on those other two sources of joy: home and alcohol. In "Carolina Backroads" and "Where I'm From" they celebrate the small town joys of their Carolina home. In "Gasoline" and the 'wish I'd thought of that' "Liquor Ain't So Hard" they put the shine in moonshine. Singing, "Tonight I'm dreaming of those low country breezes and ol' summer evenings where the livin's easy and the liqour ain't so hard." Indeed, this album is the perfect nightcap to a perfect day of dancing in the sun. - Family Reunion Country / Blogspot

Before I get started on the acts, I would like to state that I am going to do it out-of-order and I am doing this not because we were invited to cover this by the guys in The Deadfields, which I am very glad they did. I am doing it because for me they really shined the brightest, so I feel like they deserve the last word.

Now the reason I was there on this night was because The Deadfields personally contacted The Backstage Beat and asked us to cover their show for them, and like I said earlier I’m glad that they did because it allowed to find a band that is really holding a new torch that is picked up from artists from the past. The guys in The Deadfields have something going on for them that is a breath of fresh air in a somewhat stale environment with a sound that is clearly inspired from Americana to Country-Rock, but at the same time hard to actually pin point. One of the biggest factors in this is singer Geoff Reid’s vocals, which although fits into the Americana and Country style carry an essence of Alternative within them as well and that makes for something new and different. As far as the actual live performance goes they have a strong energy that only builds upon the music and shows just how that really love and enjoy what they do, and that provides the crowd with a very upbeat, fun-loving atmosphere. They tore through a set packed with originals only such as the opener Carolina Backroad to Blood On My Guitar Strings and Gasoline, but I feel like that was a good thing for them to do because it forced them to really let themselves out there and really have their hearts into the show. Once they reached the end of their set list, instead of just saying their goodnights, they went acoustic and wander off the stage and through the audience to provide us with a really intimate performance that really brought a connection through the whole room. With the conclusion of their performance I took it upon myself to wander the crowd and gather opinions of it’s occupants about The Deadfields, what I gathered was, in general, the reception they received was pretty positive for an up and coming group that is fairly unknown. - The Backstage Beat, Atlanta GA

If, shortly after hell froze over, the tastemakers of country radio suddenly came to me and said, "Okay, we're willing to make some compromises with you and your ilk. Recommend some bands with the 'authenticity' you so desire, yet a catchy, well-produced commercial-ness that won't alienate soccer moms," The Deadfields are one of the bands I'd suggest. I gave you that massive run-on sentence to basically say this: The Deadfields are catchy as hell and very accessible, but never sacrifice song-craft or soul for the almighty dollar.

Dance in the Sun, the debut album from this "folk-rock" outfit out of Georgia and the Carolinas, is a work representative of the artists the band mentions as influences. Ryan Adams, Wilco, Roy Clark, Wham!, Hanson, Cracker and Vince Gill can all be heard at times in their work, as odd a collection as that is. The Deadfields' new-grass meets pop-folk signature sound puts them squarely in the middle of the roots resurgence of recent years. They'd be a great fit at your local festival playing between the Old 97's and the Civil Wars, or opening for Reckless Kelly at Billy Bob's Texas. It's that diverse (yet cohesive) and friendly a sound.

The albums opens with the sugar-hooked "Carolina Backroads" which is a far better dirt road anthem than you'll ever hear out of Jason Aldean. The Deadfields' sunny harmonies and expertly played strings make this a real steering-wheel drummer.

"Dandelion" is a far better-written and more memorable take on the theme and approach of Blake Shelton's "Honeybee." It's a lively love song that you don't have to feel guilty about singing along to.

There's not an off-song in the bunch, quite honestly. It's a peppy affair; even the darker introspection of "Till the Next Time" comes off more hopeful than hopeless.

While my glass-half-empty side wishes there were a bit more range of emotion, you never get the feeling that the guys are gunning for the cheerful waves of Clearchannel radio or an upbeat car commercial spot. It's just their way, and somehow the perkiness never gets cloying. The guy/gal duet "We Stick Together" veers the closest to cheese, but still sounds way more Bruce Robison/Kelly Willis than Donnie and Marie.

Warning: if grittiness is your thing, steer clear. The music is honest, but it's as clean and crisp as granny's sheets drying on the clothesline.

In my perfect world, The Deadfields would play alongside Jamey Johnson, The Damn Quails, the Dixie Chicks, Ray Wylie Hubbard and Alan Jackson on mainstream country radio. In this real world, I'll just slot them into my playlists and enjoy the hell out of Dance in the Sun.

Recommended if you like: The Avett Brothers, The Damn Quails, Randy Rogers Band, Glossary, Eli Young Band, the Jayhawks, Dixie Chicks - basically anybody strong on melody and heart. Try 'em, you'll like 'em. - Farce the Music

From the ashes of Atlanta pop-country outfit South 70 rises singer/guitarist Geoff Reid’s harder-edged project, The Deadfields. Despite the tough band name, dark album art and gritty titles (“Blood on My Guitar Strings,” “Liquor Ain’t So Hard”), Reid’s knack for big, fat hooks remains irrepressible. Every tune on this self-released debut is a surefire radio hit waiting to be poached by Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, et al. From the harmonica-slingin’, banjo-pickin’ blast of “Dandelions” to the pedal steel-streaked barroom blitz of “Till the Next Time,” The Deadfields plow a fertile swath of songwriting. By the last two tracks, though, Reid nearly treats his massive talent as a joke with intentionally saccharine, yet still fun, duet (with Tiffany Leigh Blalock) “We Stick Together” and rockabilly-blues burner “Gasoline.” Reid, who women tell me is a million times cuter than Ryan Adams, doesn’t need luck to sell millions of albums at a time when albums are flagrantly thieved; he just needs a major-label deal to storm the charts. Order via iTunes or TheDeadfields.com. - Weekly Seven - Las Vegas, NV

From the ashes of Atlanta pop-country outfit South 70 rises singer/guitarist Geoff Reid’s harder-edged project, The Deadfields. Despite the tough band name, dark album art and gritty titles (“Blood on My Guitar Strings,” “Liquor Ain’t So Hard”), Reid’s knack for big, fat hooks remains irrepressible. Every tune on this self-released debut is a surefire radio hit waiting to be poached by Keith Urban, Kenny Chesney, et al. From the harmonica-slingin’, banjo-pickin’ blast of “Dandelions” to the pedal steel-streaked barroom blitz of “Till the Next Time,” The Deadfields plow a fertile swath of songwriting. By the last two tracks, though, Reid nearly treats his massive talent as a joke with intentionally saccharine, yet still fun, duet (with Tiffany Leigh Blalock) “We Stick Together” and rockabilly-blues burner “Gasoline.” Reid, who women tell me is a million times cuter than Ryan Adams, doesn’t need luck to sell millions of albums at a time when albums are flagrantly thieved; he just needs a major-label deal to storm the charts. Order via iTunes or TheDeadfields.com. - Weekly Seven - Las Vegas, NV

Something special’s going on with The Deadfields, and they’re celebrating the release of their CD, “Dance In The Sun,” to prove it. Here’s the thing about the Atlanta quintet: Remember the Belleville Outfit, the phenomenal Spartanburg band? Well, The Deadfields pick up where Belleville left off. At the same time, they’ve got the harmonies and super-tight talent that’ll make you think of the Zac Brown Band. Their addictive Americana/bluegrass feels as polished as any band that has been together a decade, with slick guitar and banjo pickin’, a smooth and confident backbeat and effortless harmonies. They’ve opened here for Carolyn Wonderland, the blues-rock phenom, and wowed everyone. They “have something going on for them that is a breath of fresh air,” says Backstage Beat. - The Handlebar, Greenville SC