The Handsome Family will be touring the UK and Ireland this year for the first time since 2018.

The Handsome Family have written some of the most haunting and beautiful songs in American music. During a 30-year career, Brett and Rennie Sparks have created songs that transform the mundane landscape of modern life into a place of mysterious portent.

Handsome Family songs take place in parking lots and big box stores, under overpasses and in airports. They sing about Custer’s last stand and automatic lawn sprinklers in the same song. Rennie’s lyrics often focus on the myriad creatures that live at the edges of the man-made world: the sparrows, rats, cockroaches and crows that share our cities.

Many great songwriters have covered their work, among them Jeff Tweedy, Jason Lytle, and Andrew Bird as well Christy Moore. David Bowie wrote the words, “The Handsome Family” in a notebook right before his death. Who knows what could have been?

Handsome Family shows are famously relaxed. Their songs can be dark, but there’s always laughter on stage. Rennie sings as well as plays Autoharp, banjo, and uke bass. She often introduces songs with seemingly unrelated stories. Brett, with his stentorian voice, is a powerful presence at center of the stage.

There are a lot of new faces at shows these days, lured by “Far From Any Road,” which became a global hit after it was used as the theme to season one of True Detective. Both Bruce Springsteen and Guns ’N Roses have used “Far From Any Road” as walk-on music.

2022 TOUR UK/IRELAND

26 AUG St Lukes Church, Brighton UK

27 AUG St Lukes Church, Brighton UK

30 AUG Birmingham Hare & Hounds, Birmingham UK

31 AUG The Globe, Cardiff UK

01 SEP The Phoenix, Exeter UK

02 SEP The Redgrave Theatre, Bristol UK

03 SEP St Barnabas Church, Oxford UK

06 SEP eARTh, London UK

07 SEP Norwich Norwich Arts Centre, Norwich UK

08 SEP The Wardrobe, Leeds UK

09 SEP Sage, Gateshead UK

10 SEP Community Central Halls, Glasgow UK

12 SEP St Marys A Cultural Space, Chester UK

13 SEP Stoller Hall, Manchester UK

15 SEP Black Box, Belfast UK

16 SEP Letterkenny Regional Cultural Centre, Letterkenny IE

17 SEP Liberty Hall, Dublin IE