But before the band entered the stage, they kicked a funny clip to the song in a worldwide episode “Hell, I’ll be in good company”, the gradually filling Forum Karlín belonged to the front jumpers. The evening was opened by the German singer Max Paul Maria. The impression was a bit embarrassing, especially when he helped himself with pre-recorded rhythmic data. It seemed strange, insincere to the songwriter. It was much better in the songs, when he turned off the annoying underdrawing and only played it himself. At that moment, quality came to the surface – voice and melodic ideas. For the second time, the Canadian band Shred Kelly, the set in the Prague hall was said to be the biggest concert of his career. And they dealt with that fact without nervousness, confidently with undisguised enthusiasm. Fleet Foxes and Mumford & Sons sound unmistakably in their music, but the five have their own charm and energy, which they are not afraid to pass on. Good more tracking!

© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz

The Dead South is a phenomenon that cuts across age and genre categories. The folk singers deserved to meet in Karlín, a youth that one would expect completely differently than on country / bluegrass (for example, some dreamy indie pop), but also very small children with their parents. There were devoted fans of the band dressed in a combination of black pants, white shirts and kshand, but there were also metal T-shirts. And they all had the same fun. How often do you see dancing (not just rippling to the rhythm, but seriously dancing) you visit in line for a beer? These Canadians are not great showmen. Instrumentally unimpressive music is usually clearly appealing to instruments and microphones, the more informative element on the stage is such an overgrown woodpecker with mandolin Scott Pringle, who did not get lost on any harder event. Visually, a relatively static performance is added by the dynamics of light. And here is the great compliment to the illuminator. Catch all the stop-times, accelerations and decelerations that The Dead South’s music is full of, this is an art that requires experience and an inner connection with the music. And the sounder deserves the same praise, who managed to catch a great sound, with which no jingle of the banjo or the rhythmic jam of the mandolin was lost. Too bad only the kick, which sometimes rumbled unnecessarily much.

© Vojta Florian / musicserver.cz

In a busy, hour and forty-lasting set, all three albums were represented in the band for exactly a few minutes, with an emphasis on faster pieces. A pleasant slowdown was, for example, “The Good Lord” with perfectly managed harmonies and, of course, a famous hit video clip, which provoked a stormy response – and also a forest of glowing phone screens, unfortunately. The Dead South may have made it that way. The concert, which has been moved several times, took place at a time when the pandemic situation is deteriorating, and we will probably meet at an event of this size for some time to come. Thanks to the courage of the organizers for not giving up. Evenings like these show how much live music is needed. That energy is absolutely irreplaceable, captivating and recharging.