The Payroll Union - Paris of America Pre-Order LISTEN first single The Mission Field

Members: Pete David, Ben Fuller, Paul Heath, Tom Baxendale

For those of us blown away by one of the best Americana bands to come along, The Payroll Union, since the 2012 debut EP Your Obedient Servant and the 2013 full-length The Mule & The Elephant we've been watching and waiting in anxious anticipation for the next album, As part of the project Faith & Fear in Philadelphia how the past can be explored through music, film and art, and two years in the making, the album is now finalized as Paris of America,
With an obsession for American history, the UK Americana band teamed up with The University of Sheffield to chronicle with music religion and violence in antebellum Philadelphia and the adjacent districts of Kensington and Southwark a series of riots that took place between May 6 and 8 and July 6 and 7, 1844,
The Philadelphia Nativist Riots (also known as the Philadelphia Prayer Riots, the Bible Riots and the Native American Riots)  The riots were a result of rising anti-Catholic sentiment at the growing population of Irish Catholic immigrants.

Their outsider take on American history provides a unique perspective on the American experiment and uses the rich melting pot of American music to tell the tale. If you're a history buff, as I am, follow along with the continuing project.

Since its inception with the arrival of the Puritans, America was seen by English Calvinists and Evangelists as a massive mission field ripe for harvest and conversion.

Listen to the dark, gothic single The Mission Field

Watch The Mission Field Video
Pre-Order Paris of America Release date 6/29/15


Andrew Heath from the Department of History and Pete David, musician and lead singer for Sheffield band The Payroll Union discuss their collaborative project which will culminate in an album of songs based on historical research into 19th century Philadelphia.