{"id":74,"date":"2011-04-29T13:57:39","date_gmt":"2011-04-29T18:57:39","guid":{"rendered":"Steve Dawson: singer \/ songwriter, guitars, piano\nDiane Christiansen: singer \/ songwriter, guitar, melodica, organ\nMark Balletto: guitars, lap steel, singing\nMike Bradburn: bass and singing\nMatt Thobe: drums, singing and piano\n\nSteve Dawson: singer \/ songwriter, guitars, piano
\nDiane Christiansen: singer \/ songwriter, guitar, melodica, organ
\nMark Balletto: guitars, lap steel, singing
\nMike Bradburn: bass and singing
\nMatt Thobe: drums, singing and piano<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Steve<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Diane<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>
Mark<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

\"\"<\/a>Mike<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Matt<\/p>\n

\u201cElectric country majesty\u2026when Dawson and Christiansen fly in close harmony, you get a good idea of how Marshall Crenshaw and Lucinda Williams might sound in duet.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u2013 Rolling Stone<\/p>\n

Chicago quintet Dolly Varden is built around the singing and songwriting of husband-and-wife duo Steve Dawson and Diane Christiansen, along with Mark Balletto on guitar, Matt Thobe on drums and Mike Bradburn on bass. The lineup has remained the same for 25 years through tours, albums, children and relocations and they continue to enjoy their family-like connection through making music together. Though the band\u2019s name suggests a euphonious connection to a certain country singer, it is actually derived from a rare and beautiful species of trout, which in turn was named after a character in Charles Dickens\u2019 short novel, <\/span>Barnaby Rudge<\/em>. Strange, but true: Dawson and Christiansen both had fathers who were avid fishermen who dreamed of one day catching the elusive Dolly Varden in an icy Alaskan lake. Dolly Varden recorded their debut album, <\/span>Mouthful of Lies,<\/em> in Christiansen\u2019s art studio on a 4-track cassette machine and released it on their own Mid-Fi label in 1995. The success of that album led to them signing with New York indie label, Evil Teen, who released <\/span>The Thrill of Gravity <\/em>(1998) and <\/span>The Dumbest Magnets <\/em>(2000). Produced by Brad Jones and considered to be one of their finest efforts, <\/span>Magnets, <\/em>led years of successful touring in the UK and Europe and considerable critical acclaim. The follow-up, also produced by Jones, <\/span>Forgiven Now<\/em>, was released on Undertow Records in 2002. After nearly constant touring and recording the band took a well-deserved break in 2003. During the hiatus Dawson recorded the first of a series of solo albums, Dawson and Christiansen recorded an album of duets, and Balletto recorded a solo album under the band name, My Record Player. The band reunited to release <\/span>The Panic Bell<\/em> in 2007, an album that leans more toward the power-pop side of their musical personality, followed by <\/span>For A While<\/em> in 2013, a life-assessing song cycle which features two of Dawson\u2019s most acclaimed songs, \u201cMayfly,\u201d and \u201cSaskatchewan To Chicago.\u201d Christiansen has devoted the majority of her considerable creative energy to visual art over the last decade with works and collaborations shown in galleries and museums all over the US and UK. Dawson has been teaching songwriting and guitar at the legendary Old Town School of Folk Music since 2005 and he co-wrote a book on the creative process with Mark Caro called, \u201cTake It To The Bridge: Unlocking The Great Songs Inside You.\u201d In 2014 Dawson formed the band, Funeral Bonsai Wedding, a folk-jazz hybrid featuring some of Chicago\u2019s most acclaimed improvising musicians. Their self-titled debut in 2014 and the follow-up, <\/span>Last Flight Out<\/em>, in 2020, featuring the Quartet Parapluie String Quartet, were released to critical raves and thrilling live sets. Dawson\u2019s newest solo album, <\/span>At The Bottom Of A Canyon In The Branches Of A Tree<\/em>, will come out on Pravda Records in July, 2021. Dolly Varden is planning to begin work on a new album in 2022.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Steve Dawson: singer \/ songwriter, guitars, piano Diane Christiansen: singer \/ songwriter, guitar, melodica, organ Mark Balletto: guitars, lap steel, singing Mike Bradburn: bass and singing Matt Thobe: drums, singing and piano Steve Diane Mike Matt \u201cElectric country majesty\u2026when Dawson and Christiansen fly in close harmony, you get a good idea of how Marshall Crenshaw<\/p>\n

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