Fairground Saints

Santa Barbara born and now Nashville based trio Fairground Saints create their warm and wistful sound by playing off the delicate contradictions at the heart of their music. Their unique California country sound, layered three part harmonies and solid musicianship is impressive beyond their years. With each member sharing songwriting duties, Mason Van Valin and Elijah Edwards impart a starkly literate, sometimes-gritty sense of introspection informed by artists like Bob Dylan and Jim Messina, while their fellow vocalist Megan McAllister lends a soulful vulnerability and gutsy intimacy inspired by everyone from Shania Twain to Stevie Nicks. “We each bring in our own different elements, but what connects us is the level of honesty that we go for in our songs,” says McAllister. And in achieving that honesty, Fairground Saints infuse their music with intense emotional power. “All of us in the band believe in being as real as possible with our music, and not shying away from wherever a song is trying to take us,” Van Valin says. Fairground Saints’ easy chemistry and a shared sensibility feels beamed in from the golden era of singer-songwriters.