The Civil Wars is a duo composed of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White. The two met during a Nashville, Tennessee songwriting session in 2008. After releasing a live performance album and a four song EP, their full-length album, Barton Hollow, was released in 2011. The band won the Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album in 2012. The duo went on a hiatus in November 2012.
Williams and White met in 2008 during a song writing session or "writing camp" at a music studio in Nashville, Tennessee. In an exclusive interview, Williams stated that the band name was generated, "As I was driving around town looking at all the Civil War monuments I thought about all the wars that we each face. So the name came about that way." According to their web site, the group's name, The Civil Wars, and their song "Poison and Wine", sum up their thematic direction. They are about the good, the bad, and the ugly of relationships.
