Country duo to showcase their new film, along with upcoming album release
Nashville-based country/Americana duo The Young Fables are looking forward to launching their new tour — The Screenplay Tour — during their show Saturday evening, Feb. 5, at the Holland Theatre.
Vocalist Laurel Wright and guitarist Wesley Lunsford, who have been performing together now for about eight years, said the 7 p.m. concert will combine a screening of their recently released documentary, “The Fable of a Song,” followed by the performance of a number of their hit songs from each of their albums.
“We’re looking forward to sharing the film with the audience, and then moving into a performance portion of the evening, where we’ll be able to share our music and also talk more about the film,” Lunsford said Monday.
The tour kicks off just prior to the release of their third album, “Pages,” which comes out March 10. It will include recently released singles, including “Over You” and “House of the Lord.”
Their film “The Fable of A Song” was released several months ago toward the end of 2021, and it has already garnered multiple awards, including Nashville Film Festival’s Audience Choice Award during its premiere.
The duo said it all started out as an idea by their manager to make a short video to share with their fans, tracing the process of writing one song, “Daddy’s Girl.” The project turned into a full-length documentary following the intersection of the filming with unexpected loss and tragedy experienced by Wright’s family during 2018, she explained.
“It turned into so much more than just a video with a few quick snippets,” the vocalist said. “We happened to be filming during some very difficult times for my family. My sister passed away in Jan. 5, 2018, following a car accident, and then just eight months later, my dad also passed away unexpectedly.
“The film covers love, loss, grief, depression and resilience in living through times like these. Prior to these experiences, I had trouble figuring out what my purpose was. But now when I’m on stage, I feel a real purpose shining through and I’m excited to share our film with others. Maybe it can help them through their own hard times as well.”
Lunsford and Wright said they are both natives of Eastern Tennessee town Maryville, and grew up in families that fostered a love of music.
“I’ve loved singing since I was 3 or 4 years old,” Wright said. “I grew up singing in my church.”
“My family enjoys music, and my mom plays the piano,” Lunsford said. “As a youngster, I always gravitated toward the guitar, and then my mom bought me my first guitar after I kept mentioning it to her.”
At young ages, the pair began collecting impressive accolades, including the Grand Prize at the Texaco Country Showdown, which landed Wright on the Ryman Auditorium stage at age 16.
The team also is known for having been selected by Shania Twain to appear on USA’s showcase television series, “Real Country.”
The Young Fables expanded their grassroots following while on the road supporting their first two studio albums, “Two” in 2017 and “Old Songs” in 2019.
They’ve also appeared with such notable acts as Lauren Alaina, Rascal Flatts, Josh Turner, Sara Evans, Chris Janson, Randy Houser, Delta Rae, Liz Longley and Chris Lane.
In addition, CMT exclusively premiered the music videos for “Completely” and “Half as Good” with both going on to achieve regular rotation on country music video channels.
During 2018, Rolling Stone spotlighted the group with a “10 Best Country and Americana Songs of the Week” with the release of their adaptation of the Patsy Cline iconic hit “Crazy.”
Tickets for the Holland Theatre performance are $15 to $25, or $5 for youths ages 17 and younger, and are available at www.thehollandtheatre.org, or by calling the box office at (937) 592-9002.