This band has always been a jumble of contradictions. On the one hand, we've had a long-running career where we got to make art for a living. But on the other hand, we have always eluded any kind of traditional success.  We weren't covered much in the press, we never had a song that had a lot of radio play, nothing ever went viral, we didn't have a big social media presence, we never played a good festival spot where there was a sea of people in the audience, not once opened an arena or even a big shell auditorium show or tour. We constantly lost opportunities because of the band name and were somehow always treated like nobodies or yesterday's news by most of the industry. But you, you gosh dang wonderful audience, managed to keep us growing,  and we never had a career slump.    When we were our busiest — playing over 200 shows a year — we were chronically underpaid and always barely scraping by. But people kept writing to us or telling us how much we mattered and kept showing up, and we started to believe it a little. And then over the years, we grew to a more manageable place and it seemed possible to carve out a niche in this massive, mean world of entertainment.   When I reflect on how good our career was and how lucky we were, I'm left with just gratitude for the small team of folks who have worked with the band and this grassroots fan following that has lifted us up the entire time. I feel like we owe any and all our success to you.    I never called us DIY — despite taking on much of the work ourselves — because there are always people behind the scenes helping: it takes a village. Thank you to the promoters, clubs, bands, managers, agents, artists, publishers, lawyers, publicists, crews, etc. etc. etc. who believed in us and everyone who made this work for so long. An enormous thank you to those of you who helped us through the many difficult periods.  Thank you for your relentless support, your passionate listening, and your generosity.  It's been the honor of my life to write, record, sing and perform for you. We are currently in the studio pouring ourselves into a new album — stay tuned for it. After this tour, we plan to continue to do our cave shows so we can have a way to meet up once a year, but that's it. Excited to see you all on this last trip out. —Adam Turla & Murder By Death

A man armed only with a banjo and a bass drum can be a formidable force, especially if his name is William Elliott Whitmore.  With his powerful voice and honest approach, Whitmore comes from the land, growing up on a family farm in Lee County, Iowa.  Still living on the same farm today, Whitmore has truly taken the time to discover where his center lies, and from that he will not be moved. Whitmore has repeatedly carved his own path, honoring the longstanding tradition of folk music throughout his nearly 20 year career, while always allowing his blues, soul and punk rock influences to shine through.  Getting his first break opening for his friend’s hardcore band with just a banjo in hand, he would discover bands like The Jesus Lizard, Bad Brains, Lungfish and Minutemen and soon learn to play his own brand of rural, roots music with that same DIY ethic. William Elliott Whitmore has been back and forth across the United States and to cities around the world.  He’s toured with such diverse acts as Frank Turner, Trampled By Turtles, Clutch and Chris Cornell to name a few.  He’s appeared on some of the biggest stages around the world including Stagecoach Fest, Byron Bluesfest (Australia) and End of the Road Fest (UK).  His willingness to take his show to any playing field has proved invaluable as he turned strangers to diehards with every performance.