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The Milk Carton Kids are digitally releasing the live album Live From Symphony Hall on Friday, December 4. Recorded at Atlanta’s Symphony Hall on November 6, 2015, the record will be available via Bandcamp with fans able to name their own price. 100% of the album’s proceeds go to Fair Fight, a national voting rights organization rooted in Georgia.

Band members Joey Ryan and Kenneth Pattengale note:
"We’ve always loved Georgia. We’ve always felt at home there as we started out at the tiny, iconic Eddie’s Attic, had opening gigs at The Loft and The Fox, played Athens at The Melting Point and Macon at the Hargray Capitol Theatre, and eventually got to the Buckhead, the Variety Playhouse, and the stunning Symphony Hall. This Symphony Hall show was performed around one microphone, so our mixing and editing flexibility was limited. We’ll have to request your lenience on a few occasions. But Kenneth is a gifted engineer (he wanted me to add, he’s actually a Grammy-nominated engineer), and has brought the all-encompassing sound of the Symphony Hall and its audience to life on this recording. In the end, this was a damn good show, if we do say so ourselves. 

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We’ve also always loved democracy. If there’s one issue on which we could both be considered radicals, it’s Voting Rights. The promise of American democracy can only be fulfilled when everyone has a chance to participate. Sadly, we have a long history of falling short of this promise, especially along racial lines. But progress continues and we are hopeful. Lately we’ve been inspired by Stacey Abrams’ work via Fair Fight to expand voting access in Georgia and beyond. All proceeds generated by this album will support Fair Fight. Our sincere thanks go to Kim Rosen for donating her mastering services, and Megan Baker for donating the cover photo, so we could give 100% from dollar 1 to Fair Fight.

While Fair Fight is primarily focused on voting access, they are an openly partisan organization supporting Democratic candidates and targeting Democrat-heavy constituencies. So, if you’d like to have this album for free for political or financial reasons, you may. Further, if you’re aware of Republican-led organizations working to expand voting rights and feel more comfortable supporting them instead, we’d applaud your efforts, and we’d like to hear about them. Perhaps we could work together.

For now, please enjoy the show. We’ll be back in Georgia soon, many times."

With live shows on pause for the foreseeable future, The Milk Carton Kids are also now taking their critically acclaimed Sad Songs Comedy Hour residency—which typically takes place at Los Angeles’ Largo at the Coronet—to the internet. The new online series features interviews, live performances and more and recently premiered with episodes featuring Rosanne Cash, John C. Reilly, Adam Savage (“Mythbusters”), Tom Papa, Sara Bareilles, Cecile McLorin Salvant, Sarah Jarosz, The Secret Sisters and Mandolin Orange (to name a few). Each episode promotes NIVA (National Independent Venue Association); watch the entire series HERE.

Founded in 2011, The Milk Carton Kids swiftly emerged as a major force in the American folk tradition, blending ethereal harmonies and intricate musicianship with a uniquely powerful brand of contemporary songcraft. 2013’s ANTI-debut The Ash andamp; Clay proved their national breakthrough, earning The Milk Carton Kids their first Grammy Award nomination for Best Folk Album. A second Grammy nomination for Best American Roots Performance followed in 2015 for the track “The City of Our Lady” from band’s acclaimed third studio album, Monterey, and 2018’s All The Things That I Did And All The Things That I Didn’t Do was nominated for Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical.

The band’s most recent album The Only Ones (out now via Milk Carton Records in partnership with Thirty Tigers) continues to receive extensive praise, with Rolling Stone proclaiming that “Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan get back to the beautiful basics with The Only Ones,” while NPR’s “World Café” notes that “even though Joey and Kenneth are not related, their voices together create a sibling-like harmony...the duo has a strong sense of respect and reverence for the musical traditions that they've grown from.”