Sweet, Sweet music available from popular ‘Tandem’

Jeremy Dunham and Kerrine Gifford’s Myrtle Beach-based act Sweet Sweet has completed the group’s first EP, entitled “In Tandem.” While some early advance copies have recently been available at Sweet Sweet shows, the official release date will likely be in mid-July corresponding with a national publicity campaign and rollout with a new promotional team.

Sweet Sweet most often appears as a duo with Dunham on guitar, some foot-driven percussion and lead vocals. Gifford performs on cello and offers harmonies. See them live at Bubba’s Love Shack on June 26, and at Barefoot Landing on June 29. Occasional guests sit in turning the duo into a trio or even larger. Some of these guests appear on “In Tandem,” giving fans a taste of the full-blown sweetness offered through the larger ensemble and extra production that only the studio can offer.

The project has been a slow, careful labor of love.

“It took us a while,” said Dunham, who spoke to Surge while en route to a gig in Florence where Bullfrog, another of Dunham’s groups, was set to perform. “It’s been almost a year. We recorded the single (“To The Stars”) in Charlottesville, Virginia, around a year ago.” A Ruben Long-directed music video of “To The Stars” has had several thousand views on YouTube. “Then we started working on a few songs at our own studio here in town, and we did two of the songs at Full Sail University in Florida. They offer a program where you can go and record with the students. It was a really cool experience. We booked some shows in Orlando, went there and recorded. We had two, four-hour slots with the students.”

Stevie Martinez, the bassist for Bullfrog, will sit in with Sweet Sweet at Barefoot Landing on June 29, and he appears on most tracks of the new EP. Michael Hucks plays The Bell Box, an instrument of his own invention and build. Cameron Nesbitt and Jentry Rose provide additional vocals on the project as well.

The project’s songs include a few older Dunham compositions but the rest are mostly a collaborative effort that Dunham and Gifford wrote as a team. The alternative, rootsy folk-rock sound and style is reminiscent of a stripped-down Mumford & Sons and offers a much-needed and appreciated antidote to tourist-driven dance and beach music that is the norm along the Grand Strand.

Sweet Brews and Reggae Tunes

The House of Blues in North Myrtle Beach has partnered with Sweetwater Brewery to offer live Reggae music on their outdoor deck each Sunday through Sept. 4. Sweetwater has big giveaways planned for the final Sunday in September, and will offer their craft brews during the event for $5.

This story was originally published June 22, 2016 at 1:58 PM with the headline "Sweet, Sweet music available from popular ‘Tandem’."