Synopsis

Roadkill Ghost Choir's "Beggars' Guild" is a performance-driven video with a loose, dreamlike feel rather than a strictly linear storyline. The band's rootsy, energetic presentation is paired with imagery that reflects the song's troubled narrator: romantic betrayal, self-destruction, escape from the city, spiritual doubt, and the desire to disappear. Its atmosphere balances dusty Americana with darker, almost surreal touches, echoing the track's movement between banjo-led momentum, confession, and increasingly wild images of guilt, isolation, and redemption.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Beggars' Guild" was originally released on the Quiet Light EP on September 25, 2012, through Greatest Hiss Records. The EP was later reissued by Wolfbomb Productions on July 9, 2013, with "In the Lion's Mouth" added to the track list.

• The official video appeared online in 2013 and was premiered through Relix during the band's early national touring period.

• A separate acoustic live video for "Beggars' Guild" was also released, making the song one of the band's most frequently documented early performances.

• The track became the band's breakout song and was later performed on The Late Show with David Letterman on January 17, 2014.

• The song's banjo-forward arrangement often led to comparisons with the contemporary folk-rock wave associated with Mumford & Sons. The band pushed back against being reduced to that trend, emphasizing its broader Southern-rock and indie-rock influences.

• "Beggars' Guild" was important enough in the band's early catalog to inspire a planned follow-up, "Beggar's Guild II," mentioned by frontman Andrew Shepard during a 2014 interview.