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Melbourne’s Premier Alt. Country Duo, The Weeping Willows, Mount The Scaffold With New Single

  • Writer: The Sound Cafe
    The Sound Cafe
  • Jul 24, 2021
  • 2 min read


As storied Americana two-piece The Weeping Willows understand better than most, we’re all equals at the end of a rope. Across two critically acclaimed studio albums and 2021’s bleakly majestic Southern Gothic EP, Andrew Wrigglesworth and Laura Coates have firmly established themselves as Australia’s foremost devotees to the dark underbelly of Southern American country-folk tradition. Through it all, The Weeping Willows have always projected a fundamental truth: Fate – be it grim, mild, or redemptive – is the Great Leveler.

Exquisite new single “Hangman (The Gallows Tree)” finds The Weeping Willows delivering their own poignant take on Peter, Paul and Mary’s classic 1965 arrangement of folk traditional ‘The Maid Freed From the Gallows’. A study in the sweet interplay of Andy and Laura’s spellbinding vocal harmonies, "Hangman (The Gallows Tree)" is a rare creature in The Weeping Willows’ catalogue: a tale in which fate loosens its grip on our protagonist’s throat, and hope chimes in the darkness. Her life and freedom bought from the hangman with coins of silver and the devotion of a true love, our maiden is spared the bitter indignity of being hanged as an indifferent family looks on. “Hangman (The Gallows Tree)” was recorded, engineered, and mixed by celebrated producer Roger Bergodaz (Raised By Eagles). Joining The Weeping Willows in the studio were world-beating bluesman Nick Charles, along with the incomparable David Piltch (Willie Nelson, Don Henley) on upright bass.

The Weeping Willows took home the 2021 Golden Guitar for Instrumental of the Year, and have garnered eight CMAA Golden Guitar nominations to date. The duo has supported industry-leading Americana artists including Iris Dement (USA) and Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real (USA).

As The Weeping Willows so eloquently express with “Hangman (The Gallows Tree)”, when the fickle forces of fate marshal in the shadows around us, we are urged to keep heart until the last, gasping moment. A saviour weighted down with silver just might appear from over the horizon.

“Hangman (The Gallows Tree)” is out now and also available on the EP, “Southern Gothic”.



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