page_title: The Civil Wars
section_title: 2011
hierarchical_section_title: The Civil Wars / History / 2011
caption_attribution_description: English: The Civil Wars in The Sugar Club, Dublin, in September 2011
context_page_description: The Civil Wars was an American musical duo composed of Joy Williams and John Paul White. Formed in 2008, The Civil Wars won four Grammy Awards prior to their 2014 breakup.
context_section_description: Williams, White, and Peacock returned to the Art House to record The Civil Wars debut album, Barton Hollow,  which was released on February 1, 2011.  Recorded in the studio's sanctuary and in the more conventional Studio A Live Room, the production was built around vocals, acoustic guitar and piano, with drums, percussion and overdubs largely absent. Aided in part by a January appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and support from Swift, Hillary Scott of Lady Antebellum, and Sara Bareilles, Barton Hollow was the #1 downloaded album on iTunes the week it was released.  It also charted at #1 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart, #1 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart, #2 on the Rock Albums Chart, and at #10 on the Billboard 200.
  Barton Hollow received significant critical acclaim. The BBC wrote "A timeless, anachronistic record, Barton Hollow could be from 30 years ago, or it could be from 30 years hence. What’s certain, though, is that you truly feel it in the here and now," while the New York Daily News wrote "With care and delicacy, they curate their notes, stitching together a sound that's sharp, arch and almost achingly fine." The album appeared on the "Best of 2011" lists for NPR Music, Rolling Stone, and Entertainment Weekly, among others, and it was listed at #9 in the "Top 10 of Everything in 2011" in Time.
  For most of the year, White and Williams toured the US and Canada non-stop.  In May and June, they toured with Adele, who wrote on her blog, "I have the complete honour of having a band called The Civil Wars on the tour at the moment. They are by far the BEST live band I have EVER seen." They toured with Adele in Europe later in the year, prior to the international release of Barton Hollow.  By October, Barton Hollow, which was released independently through Sensibility, had sold more than 195,000 copies.  In November, The Civil Wars put out a 4-song EP, Tracks in the Snow.
  The Civil Wars were nominated for a 2011 Country Music Association Award in the Vocal Duo of the Year category, and in the Duo/Group of the Year and Emerging Artist of the Year categories for the Americana Music Awards. They received the Vanguard Award at the 49th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards,
  Also in 2011, Williams and White teamed with Taylor Swift and T-Bone Burnett to write "Safe & Sound", a track for The Hunger Games: Songs from District 12 and Beyond.  The song,  performed by The Civil Wars and Swift, and produced by Burnett, was written and recorded in a single day.  It was released on iTunes in the US December 26.
caption: The Civil Wars performing at The Sugar Club, Dublin in September 2011
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