Dour festival 12 13 14 15 JULY 2012 plain de la machine à feu dour

Formed under the guidance of Howe Gelb (who played solo at Dour in 2002), Giant Sand first saw the light of day in 1982 in Tuscon. Playing a rock guided by the warmer winds of America, oscillating somewhere between country and folk music, Giant Sand became a collective that spawned numerous groups, most famously, Calexico. Giant Sand pay homage to the roots of rock in their music, but with refreshing vigour. Their 2008 album proVISIONS featured work with Isobell Campbell, Neko Case and M. Ward, Howe Gelb's collaboration list forming a veritable who's who of alt rock, and it continued Giant Sand's work of detailing love and loss in the dusty surrounds, the deserted road-side fast-food trucks, the slowly urbanising vast expanse of America.
(Dour Festival 2010)