The best folk music is often defined by its wistfulness and sense of romance. It’s fitting, then, that contemporary American folk duo Shovels & Rope have their roots in a real-life love story.

“Music has always been present in our lives,” says Cary Ann Hearst, with a smile you can feel all the way down the phone line from Charleston, South Carolina. “We probably wouldn’t have spent the time together that we were able to if I was a banker and he was a doctor, or something.”

Michael Trent, her bandmate and husband, agrees. “That’s how we met,” he says. “Music has always been around. We would have never known each other if it weren’t for our music.”

Trent is originally from Denver, and previously enjoyed some success as part of the four-man outfit The Films, although the memory is somewhat soured by a bad experience with the corporate side of the music industry. “I had a record deal when I was younger, but it was with a major label and it sort of went sour and we got churned up and spit out on the other side,” he says, although it sounds as though the scar has long since faded.

Hearst, meanwhile, was raised in Nashville, Tennessee, although she first began performing after moving to Charleston for university. She got to know Trent through the city’s close-knit music scene, and they paired up musically, then romantically, not long after. It was a natural fit, despite their different influences.

“The Violent Femmes were one of the first bands that really stuck out to me,” says Trent. “My teenage angst was full-bore at the time that I discovered them, and I really loved that it was kind of like folk music, but that it was funny and smart at the same time. For me it was a lot of garage rock … I think Carriecame up more in the traditional country music world.”

“Yeah, I was deeply inspired by the artists in the traditional country canon,” Hearst confirms. “I’m from Nashville, and they spend a lot of time teaching you about your musical heritage there. I was singing in bar bands, while Michael was more in the rock and – [she pauses, searching for the right adjectives] – Eurotrash folk music world?” The description makes her husband laugh.

“We had both made solo records right before we started this band,” says Trent. “We didn’t really know what to do with them, and had this catalogue of music with no plan and no way to tour it. So we just started playing together in bars, playing music from her record and my record, and then we just started writing together.

“It wasn’t very professional,” he continues. “As professional as you can be with a microphone and a 12-pack. We just kind of did it for fun, and then we showed some of the recordings to people and were surprised by the reactions. People got really into it.”

After touring together for a while, the pair began to enjoy greater attention with their breakthrough album O’ Be Joyful. The record made in onto the US Billboard 200 and won a pair of awards from the Americana Music Awards in 2013. Their follow-up, Swimmin’ Time, reached number one on the Billboard Folk Chart and was released by Spunk Records in Australia.

Hearst has a simple philosophy for dealing with the increased pressures of success. “You can’t acknowledge it,” she says with a laugh. “The way to choke under pressure is to succumb to the pressure. You’re better off ignoring the pressure and just doing what you do, because that’s what got you in the sweet spot anyway. If you get distracted by a mean tweet, or have one bad show, or if your record isn’t selling a gazillion copies, you just have to put your head down and stay about your business. Be industrious.”

It probably helps that, unlike a lot of touring musicians, they don’t have to leave their loved ones behind when they’re on tour. “It’s the inevitable fate of musicians that if you’re not travelling with your loved one you’re leaving them behind all the time,” says Hearst. “It’s very difficult and very bittersweet. We eliminated the great problem, which is separation, so any problem that would arise otherwise is offset by the fact that we get to be a family.”

Asked if they ever need space apart from one another, Hearst lets out another big laugh. “Oh, sure!” she exclaims. “And probably because we’re in our 30s and we’re smarter than we used to be, we’re able to just say it. I like to go to the grocery store when we’re on tour and just walk around quietly and look at all the things I want to take on the bus with me. That’s not really Michael’s bag, but it’s good for me.”

“It doesn’t seem that hard,” agrees Trent. “You work out your little problems when they arise. Maybe we’re just lucky. We’ve never been married and not collaborating musically. For us it’s just like owning a little mom-and-pop business. We give each other the space we need. I think that in any band, or in any marriage, [you need to] be able to communicate that to one another.”

Swimmin’ Time out now through Dualtone/Spunk. Shovel & Rope playalong withShakey Graves atFactory Theatre onThursday March 5.

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