Murder by Death Farewell Tour at the Codfish Hollow Barn -- July 20.
Sunday, July 20, 7 p.m.
Codfish Hollow Barn, 5013 288th Avenue, Maquoketa IA
Performing in support of their tenth and reportedly final studio album Egg & Dart, the June 13 release described by Americana Highways as "a rhinestone shining darkly" and by The Fire Note as "elegiac, thunderous, unforgettable," the indie rockers of Murder by Death bring their farewell tour to Maquoketa's Codfish Hollow Barn on July 20, That's Good Enough for Me adding that "Egg & Dart's impact will be felt for years to come, solidifying Murder By Death's place in music history."
The band's moniker taken from the Neil Simon murder-mystery spoof from 1976, Murder by Death was formed in 2000 – under the original band name Little Joe Gould – in Bloomington, Indiana, by guitarist Adam Turla and cellist Sarah Balliet (both of whom are still with the ensemble), percussionist Alexander Schrodt, keyboardist Vincent Edwards, and bassist Matt Armstrong. From its start, Murder by Death has played a range of music including instrumentals, rock, and alt-country, and has frequently employed the cello (with an electric cello for live shows) to create a Gothic sound with occasional Western references. Oftentimes, the band arranges themes such as whiskey and the devil into concept albums. The band's second album Who Will Survive, & What Will Be Left of Them?, for instance, describes a story in which the Satan wages war against a small village in Mexico. Murder by Death's fourth album Red of Tooth & Claw, meanwhile, was described by Turla as a “Homer’s Odyssey of revenge, only without the honorable character at the center.”
Since the 2002 release of the group's first studio LP Like the Exorcist, but More Breakdancing, Murder by Death has gone on to deliver additional studio albums including 2006's In Bocca al Lupo, 2010's Good Morning, Magpie, and 2012's Bitter Drink, Bitter Moon, which became the highest-charting hit of the musicians' careers, reaching number 76 on the Billboard 200. For that album, Murder by Death – its lineup currently composed of Turla and Balliet, percussionists David Fountain and Dagan Thogerson, bass player Tyler Morse, and violinist Emma Tiemann – raised $187,048 through a Kickstarter campaign, employing the fundraising service again for 2015's Big Dark Love (raising $278,486) and 2018's The Other Shore (raising $327,407). As for the Kickstarter presale for 2022's Spell/Bound, it raised $440,439, making it, at the time, the seventh-highest funded Kickstarted project in the music category. Glide magazine lauded the recording for its "massively expansive, moody soundscape" that results in "a hauntingly beautiful record," while New Noise praised the band members who “seemingly have no problem pushing the boundaries of their unique creativeness."
At the MurderByDeath.com site, the musicians reveal that the recently released Egg & Dart was "named after the architectural motif that symbolizes life (the egg) and death (the dart, or arrow). Egg & Dart is arguably our most sad and beautiful album, but that doesn't stop it from also having moments of triumph, desolation, horror, and joy. We explore (musically and lyrically) the challenges of letting go and moving onto the next phase."
Murder by Death bring their 2025 farewell tour to Maquoketa on July 20 alongside special guest Laura Jane Grace, admission to the 8 p.m. concert event is $35-40, and more information and tickets are available by visiting CodfishHollowBarnstormers.com.
