Milk Carton Kids

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Megan Baker

Milk Carton Kids

Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale (aka Milk Carton Kids) are at the trailhead of a tour that will run through August, so they should be rested and eager. Their latest album, The Only Ones, is a continuation of the precious but never pretentious folk music that has earned them three Grammy nominations since 2013. Their harmonies are heartbreaking and Pattengale plays the lead guitar with the same imagination and fearlessness as David Rawlins. Canadian folkie Kaia Kater supports.

Note: Moved to March 2022.

media release: The Milk Carton Kids’ special 10th Anniversary box set reissue of their critically acclaimed debut album Prologue is out now on Milk Carton Kids Records. Order the box set via the band’s website HERE.

The three-LP box set includes the remastered original album alongside a selection of early demos and live performances, as well as a disc that traces the evolution of “Michigan” and “New York,” two of the group’s most popular songs. The box set also comes with redesigned artwork and metallic ink on a clamshell box, plus a 32-page booklet featuring archival photos and a retrospective essay by author Kim Ruehl.

Band members Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale note, “We wanted to commemorate this milestone for anyone who has loved Prologue, of course, but also for ourselves. Those early days were such a blur, but we kept so much of it in iPhone recordings, posters, ticket stubs, tour laminates. Putting it all together got pretty emotional. This was the album that changed our lives.”

The band is also planning East Coast tour dates for Spring 2022 including stops at New York’s Bowery Ballroom and the Capital Turnaround in Washington, DC; see below for a complete list of dates.

The tour dates come on the heels of the band taking their critically acclaimed Sad Songs Comedy Hour residency—which typically takes place at Los Angeles’ Largo at the Coronet—to the internet over the course of the recent pandemic. The new online series features interviews, live performances and more and recently premiered with episodes featuring Rosanne Cash, John C. Reilly, Adam Savage (“Mythbusters”), Tom Papa, Sara Bareilles, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Sarah Jarosz, The Secret Sisters and Mandolin Orange (to name a few). Each episode promotes NIVA (National Independent Venue Association); watch the entire series at https://sadsongscomedyhour.com/.

Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. 2013’s ANTI-debut The Ash & Clay proved their national breakthrough, earning The Milk Carton Kids their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album. A second Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Performance followed in 2015 for the track “The City of Our Lady” from band’s acclaimed third studio album, Monterey, and 2018’s All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn’t Do was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The band’s most recent album The Only Ones (out now via Milk Carton Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers) continues to receive extensive praise, with Rolling Stone proclaiming that “Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan get back to the beautiful basics with The Only Ones,” while NPR’s “World Café” notes that “even though Joey and Kenneth are not related, their voices together create a sibling-like harmony...the duo has a strong sense of respect and reverence for the musical traditions that they've grown from.”