Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy

Nathan and his band are hardly "sideshow" entertainers -- they belong front and center on the big stage. With the release of "Itinerant Youth," we have even more evidence to demonstrate our confidence that these guys have the goods...passion comes through in spades from the very first groans to the final notes of this new recording -- which builds on the foundation laid earlier in "Borrowed Guitars, Unwound Hearts and Broken Strings."--flanfire.blogspot.com

(Itinerant Youth)is an inspired set of rugged, country-tinged rockers. Resophonic guitar colors a band that adds electric guitar, drums, and an occasional piano or banjo. A sharp sound backing solid songwriting. --Casual Listening

Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy delivered a performance with so much verve and energy that words will not fairly describe it. The Austin-based band rocked the place with what might be called their own brand of punk-laced Texas rock, but don't try and pigeonhole this band ? their musical tastes are quite diverse. Singleton is an incredible guitar player, whose Dobro looked like it had logged a lot of Texas highway miles. Even the broken string (?luckily it was the high E, so it didn't affect me much?) couldn't slow the virtuoso, whose youthful appearance belies his road-warrior years. And the inappropriately named Sideshow Tragedy was anything but -- bassist Justin Thompson, active and rambunctious, was just as much an integral part of the show, and it was all held together by the strong, rhythmic beat of Singleton's long-time musical accompanist, drummer Jeremy Harrell. In this set, the audience appeared almost stunned, as though they couldn't believe what they were seeing. Only the fact that the band was returning to Austin after 2 weeks of touring prevented a trip to see them again the following night.--littlerocklivemusic.net

Like the unwieldy title of this debut, Nathan Singleton's music is a hodgepodge of ideas and sounds. Borrowing from a broad range of other artists can only work if you're either extraordinarily talented and/or possess the cojones not to care while spilling blood all over the place. While Borrowed Guitars owes most of its success to Singleton's attitude, his mix of Chris Whitley, the Waterboys, Dylan, and the Old 97's is unparalleled, at times joyous, otherwise hoary and dark. With producer Gabriel Gonzalez (ex-Sparta), the young Austin singer-songwriter has crafted a true album. Songs like the chugging "Prisoner" and the stifling gloom of "Cannibal Choir" are well at home in their surly blues and forlorn country. "After Love" meanders a bit, and closer "Prayer for a Woman" seems precious after what precedes it, but Singleton and company have created something that pegs him as a talent to watch. --Austin Chronicle

I'm still a sucker for lyrics on a CD that give me the power and courage to sing along. Songs about things I can relate to on a ?knowing what they are talking about? level. I know all the lyrics of Bob Schneider, the Jayhawks, John Trudell and now I can add Nathan Singleton and His Sideshow Tragedy to that list. I went to the White Water Tavern in Little Rock the other night and saw them play, and I was hooked from the first song. Nathan Singleton's voice is sweet and the country/rock twang is addicting. Some of the lyrics, all written by Nathan, have a wit and wisdom that shows off his openness to the universal voices. I hope they come by this way again soon. By then, I'll have all the lyrics memorized.--Arkansas Free Press