Those who think lush harmonies and honky-tonk rock reminiscent of original 1940s and 1950s Americana are long gone obviously haven’t heard the Sweetback Sisters.
The sextet of Brooklyn-based musicians are young in age, but they’ve got old musical souls as evidenced by what many would deem their classic country tunes.
“We started out doing only covers of old country songs because we loved all those old songs,” vocalist Emily Miller said. “It sort of felt like we were paying homage to those artists and their songs.”
Playing songs made famous by everyone from Dwight Yoakam to Willie Nelson and Patsy Cline was something akin to a graduate course in music for members of the group who met through various musical channels. As the band gained expertise in playing the classic songs, it naturally led to developing their own songs with the same feel highlighted by modern touches.
Still, true country lovers likely will enjoy knowing songs such as “Hello Wall,” made famous by Nelson, and “Lovesick Blues” by Hank Williams, still are regular parts of the set. The music of the Davis Sisters — the band’s primary influence from whom they developed their name — also play a large role in the band’s sound.
But don’t think the Sweetback Sisters are all about a trip down memory lane. The members — vocalists Miller and Zara Bode, plus players Jesse Milnes, Stefan “da guns” Amidon and Ross Bellenoit — can rock with the best of them, as evidenced by the modern sensibilities listeners will hear in their songs.
When the band released its debut album “Chicken Ain’t Chicken,” it began to sell out concerts and nabbed a guest appearance on “A Prairie Home Companion.” When the band releases a new single in November, expect the fan base to swell even more.
“It’s not about the instrumentation necessarily,” Miller said of the rock tendencies of many country bands. “Sometimes bands that sound like they are playing pop or rock [do so because] they are not doing that honky-tonk beat that promotes two-stepping. Even when we’re dong a rock beat, we definitely try to keep that swing going.”
