There was a time when Iron and Wine consisted solely of singer and guitarist Sam Beam, but the group has grown into a full-band ensemble complete with horns, strings and backing singers, all of whom crowded onto the outdoor stage last night on Jimmy Kimmel Live.
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Beam led the group through a pair of songs, starting with the folk-soul tune The Desert Babbler. The singer strummed away on an acoustic guitar as the song wound its way toward a boisterous brass interlude buoyed up by a trio of female backing singers.
A deep bassline circled through the next song, the propulsive Grace for Saints and Ramblers, and Beams voice rose and fell over accents from the horn section and subtle accompaniment from the strings. Both songs are on Iron and Wines latest album, Ghost on Ghost, which came out in April.