When Deb Talan and Steve Tannen met in 2001, they were each talented singer-songwriters in their own right. And soon after meeting, they began blending their voices, songs and lives together to form something beautiful and poignant: The Weepies.
Creating thoughtful and intoxicating folk-pop, the husband-and-wife team have quietly notched up more than 100 million Spotify streams, sold more than a million records and diffused their songs across pop culture's ether. Their music has appeared in ads for Old Navy and former President Barack Obama's campaign, as well as an endless string of films and TV shows such as Sex and the City, Scrubs and Morning Glory.
The Weepies, who rarely tour, stopped by Mountain Stage in 2010 to share songs off their fourth album, Be My Thrill. During their performance, the couple dove into their reservoir of naturally-sweetened folk poetry from their decade together. In addition to songs from the new album, the methodically curated set list included tracks from their previous three records.
On a stacked bill with high-energy acts such as The Infamous Stringdusters, Trampled by Turtles and The Punch Brothers, the duo came out deliciously melodic and slow, sharing "Somebody Loved," a selection from their 2004 debut, Happiness. "Rain turns the sand into mud / Wind turns the trees into bone / Stars turning high up above," they sang, opening a window back to their early days together. "You turn me into somebody loved."
In a pre-show interview with Mountain Stage host Larry Groce, the artists spoke of taking time off from the road to raise their sons and sift their latest project down from 75 songs to the 14 picked for Be My Thrill.
Through today's lens, with everyone searching for meaning in an increasingly cynical world, The Weepies' warm, folksy tunes such as "I Was Made for Sunny Days" still hit the spot.
This performance originally aired on December 20, 2010.
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