A folk duo that put out a ten-song album that was released last May and has a new single coming out next month. They have been reviewed by Parade Magazine and performed on international stages in addition to having earned first place at the 2023 Tucson Folk Festival songwriting contest and second place in the International Acoustic Music Awards, among other accolades. Amidst their rigorous tour schedule, the duo founded Portland’s Folk Festival. Their top five songs on Spotify have gotten more than 1.3 million streams on that platform alone. This interview was recorded live on-location in Anaheim, California, where they were performing at the NAMM Show.
(Scott) “As artists, you always try to find something that hasn't been done before or a title that doesn't exist out there, especially you look through the Spotifys and try to find something unique. It is tough with so much output that's coming through at this point.”
(Scott) “It’s an interesting balance because you don't necessarily want to completely obfuscate your art or obfuscate the things that you're creating to fit in or to make sure that there's a spot for it.”
(Sarah) “We hired a different producer than we've used in the past. And I think that alone really helped us break out of the norm of … the types of chords we play and the lyrics that we write.”
(Sarah) “I think that music has this unique ability to trigger memory. And there's a lot of studies on this and music therapy and stuff. It's like they use music with people with dementia and Alzheimer's to recall memory and they may not remember their name, but they know the words to this song.”
(Sarah) “We were like, ‘Oh, this is a really great opportunity to work with an award-winning, Billboard hit writing songwriter and producer’ and definitely changed our sound.”
(Scott) “Songwriting is so much about … how do you express your feelings in a way that can be understood, I feel. And oftentimes I would tend to lead towards more wispy, metaphysically confusing lyrics. And so, learning how to put lyrics in the songs, which actually express what I was trying to express instead of just making them flowery and, you know, literarily complex was a great experience.”
(Scott) “We want to be in an atmosphere where people appreciate us and that we appreciate them. And so, we try to look at a show and is there going to be monetary compensation or is it going to be soul-filing? Is it going to fill us up and keep our soul gas tank full or our literal gas tank full? And ideally it does both but as long as it checks one of those boxes then usually it's a go.”
(Scott) “I think that folk as an art form is a little bit more about the message that you're saying and less about the instrumentation.”
(Sarah) “Space is something that is a luxury on tour and that … very often we're crammed into the same hotel room or crammed onto somebody's couch or crammed into the same car and so I think one thing that Scott and I have learned is to take our space in the ways that we can. For me I really like to go on a walk and explore the city before a show and Scott really likes to kind of get some work done, find a coffee shop, hunker down. I think that finding ways to keep our mental and physical health up and do things separately is a really nice thing.”
(Sarah) “I think being enjoyable to work with is almost more important sometimes than putting on a good show and we know we'll put on a good show, we're confident in what we bring to the table, but I think a lot of what we bring to the table is showing up, being kind, being easy to work with, and just being gracious and appreciative of being there.”
(Scott) “You can lose your shirt anywhere, but you could also find yourself along the way.”
(Sarah) “My focus has been on what are we doing that I love and what milestones are we hitting and trying to block out what other people are doing.”
“Long Time Honey”
“House By the River”