On cusp of an ‘indefinite hiatus,’ Those Darlins bid farewell with a stop at JJ’s Bohemia

I'm sure once were on the road that it'll get nostalgic and sweet and have a different tone to it. But its a good move on all of our parts, I think.

Nikki Kvarnes and Jessi Zazu have come a long way in the years since they roomed together in Murfreesboro, Tenn., and sat on the porch crooning Carter Family songs at visitors to a nearby cemetery.

The co-lead vocalists and songwriters of always-rocking, sometimes-punky, sometimes-twangy ensemble Those Darlins, Zazu and Kvarnes are one of Nashville’s most recent musical success stories.

Along with a string of other supporting members – most recently drummer Linwood Regensburg – they’ve toured an average of 150 dates a year, including stops at major festivals such as Bonnaroo, Wakarusa and New Orleans’ Voodoo Music + Arts Experience.

More than 15,000 Spotify users stream their music every month, and the band’s praises have been sung in high-profile features produced by everyone from Rolling Stone magazine to Pitchfork Media. In 2014, Paste magazine writers likened them to “a modern-day Southern-garage version of The Runaways” before dubbing them one of the country’s best live bands.

And now, on the cusp of their 10th anniversary, they’re calling it quits. JJ’s Bohemia has long been one of the band’s haunts, and they’ll kick off their final 11-date mini-tour with a show there Friday, Jan. 15.

“[That it’s ending] hasn’t really set in, totally, yet, because of the holidays,” Kvarnes says. “This week, we’ll be getting ready, rehearsing and working up some songs that people have requested to hear for the last time.”

The band announced its intention to take “an indefinite hiatus” via a Facebook post on Dec. 8. After the split, Kvarnes plans to pursue her art and perform independently, but she hasn’t seen her bandmates since before the holidays, she says. As a consequence, she says, she’s fuzzy on their post-Darlins intentions, other than that they’ll undoubtedly continue playing as well.

“Expect more music from us,” she says. “We’re not going to stop playing music or anything. This is not the end. We’re too passionate to do something like that – at least for now.”

And although the between-the-lines interpretation of “indefinite hiatus” might translate to some as “breaking up,” Zazu is quick to point out that she’s not shutting the door entirely on the possibility of future collaborations.

“Now, maybe it won’t be a thing ever again, and maybe it will, but to put something so permanent like ‘We’re broken up forever,’ doesn’t make sense,” she says. “I’ll miss playing music with those guys. I’ll miss touring with them. It’s a special band.”

Contact Casey Phillips at cphillips@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6205. Follow him on Twitter at @PhillipsCTFP.