Few Miles South digs into roots country at Cowboy and Silver Dollar

JACKSON, Wyo. — Buttery vocals and chicken pickin’ guitar from a self-proclaimed “Georgia redneck and a California deserter,” Black English and Tori Lund of Few Miles South have been crisscrossing the Americana West for a few years. The talented duo shuns the predictable pop country in favor of roots music and country’s “golden age.” After a three-night run at the Million Dollar Cowboy (Sept. 2-4), they’ll hop over to the Silver Dollar Showroom stage for a show this Saturday.

Lund and English met singing and playing in a L.A. church and soon began penning original songs together. Initially, those songs were meant to be shopped to other artists, though after building a catalog over two years they decided to form a band. Lund is a classically trained singer with Masters of Music degree and taught piano and voice before taking to the stage. As a multi-instrumentalist with a keen ear, Blake moved to LA in 2000 and signed his first publishing deal. He has since worked in his studio as a writer, producer and engineer with credits that include Toni Braxton, George Benson, and a Grammy nominated album by Brandy. As a pair, Few Miles South does it all in-house: writing, record and producing songs.

Spinning their 2020 EP, Wiregrass, the duo showcases an affinity for hand clapping, boot-stomping bluegrass full of fiery picking and up-tempo rambles. The five-track release features Grammy-winning fiddler Michael Cleveland as well as Teton County farmer and banjoist/pedal steel player Ted Wells. It’s a follow-up to the southern rock-tinged 2019 EP, Californ I Ain’t, and pedal steel laced 2018 EP, Might Could.

Beyond the roots music, they are also promoting a recent side project. Lund collaborated with health educator Iman Gibson to release a new Antiracism Meditation EP earlier this summer. They project was created by “two friends—one black, one white—teaching the world how to be anti-racist through meditation. Our unique perspectives provide a 360 lens to personal and societal healing. We invite you to tune inward, reflect, awaken and grow.”

Few Miles South, 6 p.m. Wednesday through Friday at the Million Dollar Cowboy Bar, and 7 to 10 p.m. Saturday at the Silver Dollar Showroom. Free.