Last updated October 15, 2024 – 7:36am
Madmen Cross The Water is a new fictional podcast by transatlantic folk duo Sons Of Town Hall that tells the stories of the songs from their new album.
Starting with today's release, the band will release new podcast episodes and new music every month, which will be featured on the album Of Ghosts and Gods, scheduled for release in summer 2025. Podcast episodes will continue until December 2025 to complete the story.
This comedy-fiction podcast is set in the early 1900s and features a folk duo telling mythical origin stories.
Hosted by a fictional modern-day superfan and performed by the duo, the series follows the misadventures of two people who travel the world armed with relentless optimism and enchanting harmonies.
Each episode plays out the whimsical adventures behind each song on the new album, just as each Sons of Town Hall song helps build a fantastical world.
The Sons of Town Hall are played by British songwriter and producer Ben Parker and American songwriter and author David Barclay. The two create a song while crossing the ocean on a raft they built.
This raft is not just a mythical travel vessel or a creative starting point, but also allows it to transcend time and space while retaining a contagious sense of hope and humor. Dressed in frayed Victorian costumes, their show is part concert, part performance art, unlike anything you've ever seen.
This imaginary world they create allows them rare artistic freedom on stage and in the studio, both as writers and performers.
“It's a kind of performance art,” Barclay explains. “In a way, we are fictional characters in our dreams, which we reenact with the audience every night.”
Parker added: “Perhaps the most surprising benefit of this 'act' is that it allows us to be more honest and candid, both in our songwriting and in what we talk about between songs about human conflict. After all, costumes somehow… It allows us to be more of ourselves.”
The first episode of Madmen Cross The Water, released today, October 15th, features musical excerpts from “Wild Wind” and “How To Build A Boat.”
The podcast explains the full story behind both music, which was also released as a single today. For more information, please visit the Sons Of Town Hall website.
