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The Civil Wars is an indie folk duo composed of singer-songwriters Joy Williams and John Paul White. The duo met during a Nashville, Tennesee songwriting session and formed The Civil Wars. They gained national exposure when their song "Poison and Wine" was played on an episode of Grey's Anatomy in late 2009. The band got a boost when Taylor Swift tweeted about them in late 2010. During that period, their music video for Barton Hollow was added to the rotation at VH1 and CMT. The Civil Wars catalog includes a download-only album called Live at Eddie's Attic, an EP called Poison & Wine and a studio album titled Barton Hollow.

Williams and White met during a song writing session at a local music studio in Nashville, Tennesee in 2008. Both were hesitant about attending, attempting to get their solo careers off the ground, but decided to give it a shot. Grammy Award-winning producer Charlie Peacock began recording the duo at his Art House studio after hearing their first performance at a Nashville music venue. The duo's second performance ever, opening for Will Hoge at Eddie's Attic in Decatur, Georgia, was recorded and released as a free internet download called Live at Eddie's Attic. The album is still available for free download via their website and MySpace page.

Television producer/writer and friend, Allan Heinberg, placed their single “Poison & Wine” on an episode of Grey's Anatomy which generated thousands of Internet searches. The 4-song EP, Poison & Wine was released as a digital single two days later and debuted at No. 4 on the iTunes Singer/Songwriter Top Albums chart, peaked at No. 31 on the overall chart and was selected by iTunes as the "Best of 2010" singer/songwriter album.

The duo was selected as Paste Magazine's "Best of What's Next" and performed the song "Barton Hollow" on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno.” The band also received a boost via Taylor Swift's twitter account, as she posted numerous times during 2010 and 2011 how much she loved the band. This 'grassroots' support helped them gain notoriety, buzz, and early success, even before their full length album was released.

The Barton Hollow album was released in February 2011, and in its first week, became the No. 1 downloaded album on iTunes. The album peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Digital Albums chart, No. 12 on The Billboard 200, No. 2 on the Billboard Folk Albums chart, and No. 3 on the Billboard Rock Albums chart. The day after the album's release, the duo, who travel without a back-up band, performed a sold-out show at Nashville's historic Belcourt Theatre, which was announced by Taylor Swift to her more than 5 million followers on Twitter.

In March 2011, The Civil Wars appeared on NPR's "A Prairie Home Companion" and VH1 began playing the "Barton Hollow" video and added The Civil Wars to their list of "You Oughta Know" artists.

In April 2011 the duo received airplay on both VH1 and CMT and was reported to be the first emerging act to receive simultaneous support from both networks.

In May 2011, the duo was selected by Adele to open for her tour, including performances in Washington D.C., Philadelphia, Boston, Toronto, Montreal and New York. Adele praised the band in a blog on her website saying "...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 are magical and stunning, they make my heart hurt but make it a bit stronger at the same time too! perfect timing! please check them out, their record is beautiful. and if you're coming to any of the shows on this trip make sure you get there early to see them. i've never been so blown away. i could go on gushing forever…poison and wine is my favourite so i've attached the video for you! love always xx".

The duo headlined a benefit concert on May 25th, 2011 for victims of the April 2011 Alabama tornadoes at the Shoals Theater in Florence, AL. They performed alongside opening acts Doc Dailey & Magnolia Devil and Dylan LeBlanc, and the evening raised over $20,000 to assist the Salvation Army's efforts at rebuilding the lives of those affected by the natural disaster.