Grec 2016: Giant Sand

You may already be familiar with the work of these musicians from Tucson, Arizona, but if not, know that this is a band whose longest-serving member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. Others who have emerged from the ranks include Joey Burns and John Convertino, the two musicians who, in the '90s, started the legendary indie folk group Calexico. An incubator for fine artists and an outstanding representative of the sound that has become known as Americana, the band are still in good shape, after 30 years of line-up changes featuring some of the biggest names in music. However, they now say they have said and sung everything that they had to say and sing. At least, that's the reason Gelb gave when he announced the break-up of Giant Sand earlier this year. In 2015 they released 'Heartbreak Pass', yet another example of Gelb’s prolific talent for writing alt-country songs, and in this year they plan to launch an anthology ('The Sun Set') that includes everything the band have recorded since the very beginning. This box set will be released to coincide with the farewell tour that brings them to Europe this summer. A last hurrah from the kings of American indie folk.