For The Civil Wars, the silence between the notes and words of their minimalist Americana folk is as much part of their sound as Joy Williams' delicate vocal.

Formed in Nashville in 2009 by Williams and fellow singer-songwriter John Paul White, The Civil Wars later relocated to California but not before Tennessee had gifted their thumping acoustic sound a country inflection it may never lose.

In 2009, their track 'Poison & Wine' was picked for use in an episode of ABC's 'Grey's Anatomy' and rather than alone being a launch pad for their stellar rise it was instead just another (impressive) milestone in a meteoric climb fuelled by the appetite for their marriage of country and folk.

Apparently the pair only found out the track was to be used on the morning of the episode's broadcast and filmed a music video that afternoon in anticipation of a YouTube rush after 'Grey's Anatomy aired. The video received half a million hits.

In January 2011, the duo made their US television debut with a performance of their first single 'Barton Hollow' on 'The Tonight Show with Jay Leno'. It was the same track that would turn heads on 'Later... with Jools Holland' last month. In the meantime, The Civil Wars had released their debut record, also called 'Barton Hollow', and seen it peak at No 12 on the main Billboard chart and scoop Top 5 slots on the indie, rock and folk countdowns in the US.

The Civil Wars begin their 2012 UK tour at the HMV Institute in Birmingham on 13th March, then head over to Dublin on 14th March, returning to the UK for gigs in Manchester, Lancaster, Leeds, London (Shepherds Bush Empire) and Brighton, before the final show of the tour at the O2 Academy in Bristol on 22nd March.

Tickets for London are already on sale, priced £16. We will have tickets for the remaining tour dates when they go on sale at 9AM on Thursday 10th November, priced around €15 for Ireland and £14 for all remaining UK gigs.