the dead poets

A Poetry-to-Tunes Band since 1996

At the White Horse

Farewell Concert, May 3rd, 2025

Our last live performance, capping nearly three decades of playing together. The venue was marvelous, the audience fantastic, and we had such a great time. Metaphors be with you all!

About The Dead Poets

In general:

We used to all live in or near Asheville, North Carolina. Our first performance was in 1996 at the legendary Green Door on Carolina Lane. For nearly 30 years we've played together, for audiences ranging from five people in tiny bar to five hundred in a packed auditorium.

In particular:

Downloads of The Dead Poets

Enjoy these free tracks from a 2006 studio rehearsal.

We're sharing these recordings of previously released songs for your pleasure. Check out tracks from our latest release via one of the links below.

Music of The Dead Poets

We've done Wordsworth's Daffodils as a do-wop a cappella. We've done Plath's Mirror as a polka, Wilcox's Solitude as a bossa nova, and Longfellow's Snow-flakes as a haunting ballad. We have originals, too, that teach about cowboy poetry from the other side of the fence, and how every poem by Emily Dickinson can be sung to the tune of A Yellow Rose of Texas.

Discography

Our first release is out-of-print, our second release is rare, but our latest is still available. Click below to sample and purchase! And don't forget to download some free tracks while you're here. We'll be back!

The Dead Poets FAQ

Here are just a few questions which, to be quite honest, come up pretty frequently.

Where can I see you perform live?
Nevermore, alas. But if you join Allan's mailing list, he'll let you know about his gigs, which are always a blast..
I've lost/worn out/want to give as a gift your first CD. Is it still for sale?
Alas, we have no more of them. You may be able to find one used on Amazon or ebay. If you've bought one and lost it or worn it out, please contact us and we'll be happy to burn you an authorized bootleg.
Are you going to release any more CDs?
Doubtful, but who can tell the future?
Can we book you for our club in England/Belgium/Germany next month?
Actually, there are a number of bands in the world using DEAD POETS in their name. We were among the first (the excellent Dead Poets Society predates us, as did a couple of fellows in Connecticut), and there will be others. If you're not looking for three guys originally based in Asheville, North Carolina, USA, then we're probably not the particular incarnation you're seeking, sorry. Try Google.

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