“A fine blend of Beatles-esque dreamy folk” — AMERICANA HIGHWAYS

dreamer folk/campfire pop

Go see a live show with The Pinkerton Raid, and songwriter Jesse James DeConto might share stories about the history and architecture of his native New England, or forest legends from the Nordic region, or Broadway-showtunes-turned-football-fight-songs from Liverpool. It’s all quite beatnik and granola, steeped in the mysticism of STAR WARS and Celtic lore, the existentialism of Kerouac, the naturalism of THE LORD OF THE RINGS, Standing Rock and Laurel Canyon, and the liberation politics of Woody Guthrie, Karl Marx and Black Lives Matter. There is a fair number of songs about trees.

Jesse grew up on the mellow gold of his mom’s car radio and his dad’s guitar: Liverpool, The Village, Soulsville and Laurel Canyon. Surrounded by a big family of siblings, niblings, parents, his partner and two kids, Jesse settled in the vibrant indie scene of Durham, N.C., spinning out songs AMERICANA-UK calls “anthemic.”

With a 2024 release of winter-themed cover songs, The Pinkerton Raid takes on those classic tones directly, bookending a sonic journey with a pop-noir version of Vince Guaraldi's "Christmas Time Is Here" and a crooning take on Bon Iver’s “Holocene,” driven by a desert groove and high-lonesome brass. “Demands attention,” says AMERICANA HIGHWAYS. “A fine blend of Beatles-esque dreamy folk.” The band has opened for Illiterate Light, The Ballroom Thieves, TopHouse, Tall Tall Trees, Driftwood, The Collection and Noah Gundersen. They’ve slotted at recent festivals like Mile of Music, Soil & Sky, FredFestVA and AVLFest with artists such as River Whyless, Carsie Blanton, Tall Heights and Amythyst Kiah.

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