A little less than a year ago, the folk duo Guggenheim Grotto — guitarist/vocalist Kevin May and bass/vocalist Mick Lynch — were preparing to play at the ASCAP Cafe during the Sundance Film Festival.

Now, the band is coming back to Utah to open for They Might Be Giants. May took some time out of his schedule to chat with the Deseret News about the Sundance gig and the CD "Happy the Man," which was released shortly thereafter.

"The Sundance show was good fun," May said from the road between Minneapolis and Chicago. "It was our first time at Sundance, and we were hoping to meet a lot of famous people. But we only met Montell Jordan."

Still, playing the Sundance Film Festival was a highlight of the duo's career.

The year was full of other highlights as well. They played South by Southwest and took part in the nationally syndicated radio/TV program Mountain Stage.

"We're from Ireland," May said. "And we didn't know all those little things that benefit American music.

"We always had that delusion of grandeur of becoming rock stars but never did we think we would be part of South by Southwest or Mountain Stages. We, of course, knew about They Might Be Giants, but the other things were a bonus. Or should I say they're more like a rite of passage."

Next year, May hopes he and Lynch will spend more time touring the United States pushing the album "Happy the Man," which was a No. 1 disc on the iTunes Folk charts.

"We recorded 'Happy the Man' in a different way than we did our album 'Waltzing Alone,' " said May. "Like many musicians, we had a lot of songs we had written over the years. So it was easy for us to choose which songs we wanted.

"When we were recording 'Happy the Man,' we didn't have a lot of songs to choose from. In fact, we were writing throughout the recording of the album. It was kind of experimental. We felt as if we were making it up as we went on. It kept us on our toes, I'll tell you that."

"Happy the Man," just like its title suggests, is a more up-tempo CD than "Waltzing Solo," said May.

He also said he and Lynch are recording a new CD.

"After the tour, we'll take two months off to finish it up. If all goes well, the new CD will be out by the end of January."

Still, said May, he usually writes the lyrics when Lynch is finished with a song. Since the duo's schedule has been a whirlwind these past few months, he hasn't had time to write any lyrics.

And that, he said, was going to be a challenge because Lynch has an abundance of music he has already finished.

"I'm going to have a time trying to catch up," May said with a laugh.

IF YOU GO …

What: They Might Be Giants, Guggenheim Grotto

Where: The Depot, 400 W. South Temple

When: Nov. 6, 8:30 p.m.

How much: $20

Phone: 801-467-8499, 800-888-8499

Web: www.smithstix.com

e-mail: scott@desnews.com