Pitchfork: Bonnie "Prince" Billy Travels the South

Now that he's knocked off his April UK tour, Will Oldham is heading back to old familiar stompin' grounds, namely, the bottom right hand corner of America. Tonight in Nashville, Bonnie "Prince" Billy kicks off a mini-tour of the same ground covered on last year's live album Summer in the Southeast.

Backing Billy up on the trek will be his brother Paul Oldham, his Superwolf homie (and Johnny Cash collaborator) Matt Sweeney, Mike Fellows (Miighty Flashlight), and Peter Townsend, who we assume is not, um, you know.

Opening for all the Southern dates will be recent Troubleman Unlimited signees Warmer Milks.

has checked out, opening up space for the Bonnie "Prince" Billy moniker, which is officially in the house! "Prince" will launch a Southern U.S. jaunt tonight with a gig at Nashville's Mercy Lounge.

Spring in the Southeast:

05-02 Nashville, TN - Mercy Lounge *
05-03 Birmingham, AL - Bottle Tree *$
05-04 Hattiesburg, MS - Thirsty Hippo *
05-05 New Orleans, LA - One Eyed Jack's *
05-08 Oxford, MS - Proud Larry's *
05-09 Memphis, TN - Young Avenue Deli *
08-05 New York, NY - Joe's Pub # (two shows)

* with Warmer Milks
$ with Ponieheart
# with Hazel Dickens, Captain Anomoanon

Hey, what's with that last listing? Oldham will share the stage with folk legend Hazel Dickens, who appeared alongside Oldham in John Sayles' 1987 film Matewan and undoubtedly influenced his music. The show is in celebration of the Brooklyn Fire Proof gallery's "FOLK" installation, featuring the work of Alan Lomax.

According to the Joe's Pub website, Will will spend his sets playing "traditional music" alongside his brother Ned (aka Captain Anomoanon).

While details remain vague at the moment, a recent Drag City press release revealed that a new Bonnie "Prince" Billy record is slated to hit shelves sometime this fall. He also worked on an album, Then the Letting Go, with Faun Fables' Dawn McCarthy and Bj�rk producer Valgeir Sigurdsson in Iceland last winter. Two projects or one? Place your bets.

As previously reported, Oldham wrote the title track for Candi Staton's latest effort, His Hands, which dropped last month on Damon Albarn's Honest Jon's imprint, via Astralwerks. He also guests on Current 93's upcoming LP, Black Ships Ate the Sky, due May 23 on David Tibet's Durtro Jnana label. And appears in the indie film Old Joy, currently making a splash at a film festival near you. But you already knew that.

. * Pitchfork Review: Bonnie "Prince" Billy & Matt Sweeney: Superwolf
* Pitchfork News: Candi Staton Teams With Will Oldham