Sundilla has long had a knack for bringing in performers who take the stage as unknowns and leave the stage as somebody’s new favorite. That’s going to happen again on Friday, September 15, when The Rough & Tumble make their Sundilla debut. Showtime at the AUUF is 7:30; tickets at the door are $15, but advance tickets are just $12 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, Blooming Colors, and online at sundillamusic.com. Employees of Auburn University and Auburn-Montgomery can pay just $12 at the door.
The duo known as The Rough & Tumble used to say they were from Nashville, TN. That was before April 2015 when 5 year members Mallory Graham and Scott Tyler quit their day jobs, sold everything they owned, and gave their thirty day notice on their rental house to trade in for a life permanently on the road. With their sixteen foot camper and their 88 pound dog, Butter, they have been touring nationwide. Don’t let their vagabond tendencies fool you– this americana-folk duo are a compact team of close harmonies, versatile instrumentation, and deliberate songwriting all presented with a nudge of the elbow and a tongue in the cheek. Haunting, quirky, solemn, and spritely, The Rough & Tumble are for the faint of heart and the strong of will.
In 2011, the friends-turned-bandmates released their first EP, We Sing in Your House When You’re Not There… we even ordered pizza., an exploration of watching other people’s dogs while eating other people’s food. Shortly after, the duo released their second EP, We Don’t Believe in Monsters, Anymore… but will you please check under our beds?, wherein the band discovered that they did, in fact, still believe in monsters. In 2012, their third EP, For You, Now That You’re Married… and for me, too., generated a sudden foreshadowing for the band, still noted in history books as the time they knew everything they didn’t know.
2013 proved to be a small miracle as The Rough & Tumble met their deadlines and wrote, recorded, and released two songs a month every month. The result was The Rough & Tumble’s Holiday Awareness Campaign, a project that fought for the underprivileged, uncelebrated holidays in the calendar year. While having fun with days like Meteor Day and Boxing Day, The R&T additionally observed the great sadness that can accompany great celebration with A Day for the Remembrance of the Souls of Lost Whales and Evaluate Your Life Day.
In 2014, filmmaker Alyssa Pearson asked the duo to create a soundtrack for her upcoming film, Pieces and Pieces. Up for the challenge, the songwriters took on the task, tackling issues of PTSD, women’s rights, war, and the love in between. While the film is still to be released, The Rough & Tumble released the seven songs, also named Pieces and Pieces, on March 1, 2016.
As they closed out their second year as full time road musicians, The Rough & Tumble managed to squeeze a fourth companion into their 16 foot camper– an 81 pound rescue pup named Pud. They made room for a few more songs, too, as they released Cardboard and Christmas Lights in February 2017, a 7-song EP compiling the earliest and latest years of their career, creating a song-by-song education of the less studied R&T fans, while adding a few new songs for the devout.
The Rough & Tumble announced that a new record is due in January 2018, titled We Made Ourselves a Home When We Didn’t Know. The full length record was recorded over their 2017 winter with Dave Coleman in East Nashville. More details will follow but for now the duo can be found on the road as usual, singing sad songs and telling bad jokes until the next town calls them.
And on Friday, September 15, that town is Auburn. The Rough & Tumble will be taking the stage at the AUUF at 7:30. Advance tickets are just $12 and can be found at Spicer’s Music, Blooming Colors, and online at sundillamusic.com; admission at the door will be $15. Sundilla is a member of TigerPerks, which means that employees of Auburn and Auburn-Montgomery can get advance ticket prices at the door. At the show we’ll have free coffee, tea, water and food, and attendees are invited to bring whatever food or beverage they prefer. For more information, just go to www.sundillamusic.com.