| The Roches Holiday Show with special guest Lucy Wainwright Roche |
| » Where: The Birchmere, 3701 Mount Vernon Avenue, Alexandria |
| » When: 7:30 p.m. Friday |
| » Info: $25; ticketmaster.com |
Think of the Roches’ local concert date as something of a shooting star. The sisterly trio that first came on the scene in the late 1970s and immediately made a name for themselves with engaging storytelling, intricate three-part harmonies and compelling, optimistic music just don’t tour much anymore. Lucky us, the sisters have decided to perform a holiday season show here.
“It just sort of happened,” youngest sister Suzzy Roche said about a call from a Michael Jaworek, promoter for the Birchmere and co-founder of the Washington Area Music Association (which originated the Wammies). “He just happened to call or e-mail and say ‘I know you aren’t doing gigs, but would you want to do a gig here?’ I asked everybody and it came together.”
Not that the sisters three don’t enjoy performing, but after almost three decades on the road they’re much more selective than they once were about when and where to play. Certainly, they’ve earned that right. Maggie, Terre and Suzzy released 10 albums from 1979 to 1995 and then moved on to individual musical projects and recordings. They have gotten together sporadically afterward — such as when they recorded the 2007, 14-track album “Moonswept” that overjoyed fans and critics.
“For us, doing shows is wonderful … and this is pretty manageable,” Suzzy said about the Birchmere show. “We always think we are too old [to tour] and then our fans are still there and we are all getting old together and it’s actually really fun to see people been following us for years.”
Even though the trio’s Christmas album was released 20 years ago, fans generally bring it to seasonal concerts and ask the sisters to autograph it.
“Every year they bring it out,” Suzzy said. “We are part of their family traditions and it’s a very, very special feeling.”
Not that the upcoming show will be full of holiday songs. The sisters realize that this time of year can be difficult for some, so they are careful to keep the evening fun and upbeat, mixing in plenty of fan favorites into the set.
“It’s been such a long bunch of years now,” Suzzy said of the band’s life. “We tend to go through [our songs] like someone goes through clothes in a closet. ‘Hmmm … We haven’t worn this in a while.’ ”
This year marks an even more special time because Suzzy’s daughter with Loudon Wainwright III — Lucy Wainwright Roche, herself a musician — is a special guest at the show. Although Suzzy says she would have preferred for Lucy to choose a more stable career, the musical roots on both sides of her family obviously ran too deep for her to ignore her musical instincts.
That’s certainly something Suzzy can understand despite the bumps she and her sisters have endured through the years.
“There are many things that seem utterly ridiculous at this point,” Suzzy said, laughing, of decisions that had to be made in the course of the sisters’ careers. “But it is an amazing life we have had … I feel very blessed.”
