CANCELLED-The Secret Sisters w/ Sam Doores

Fri Jan 14 2022

9:00 PM (Doors 8:00 PM)

The Basement East

917 Woodland St Nashville, TN 37206

Ages 18+

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CANCELLED-The Secret Sisters w/ Sam Doores

  • CANCELLED-The Secret Sisters 1/14/22 at The Basement East. Refunds will be processed automatically through Ticketweb.
  • The Secret Sisters

    The Secret Sisters

    Americana

    Since their 2010 self-titled debut, The Secret Sisters have brought their spellbinding harmonies to
    songs that untangle the thorniest aspects of life and love and womanhood. In the making of their
    new album, Mind, Man, Medicine, Alabama-bred siblings Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle found their
    songwriting transformed by a newfound sense of self-reliance and equanimity, threading their lyrics
    with hard-won insight into the complexities of motherhood, commitment, compassion, and self-preservation in an endlessly chaotic world. Centered on a kaleidoscopic sound that boldly blurs
    the edges of country-folk, the duo’s fifth full-length ultimately confronts many of modern life’s
    harshest challenges while leading the listener toward a more open-hearted state of mind.
    “In our previous records there was a feeling that we had something to prove, but now we’re leaning
    toward a place of peaceful acceptance and trying to stay immersed in the present,” says Slagle, noting
    that their shared experience in parenting young children greatly informed that shift in perspective.
    “There are definitely still moments of frustration and anger on this album, but there’s also a little
    more light,” Rogers adds. “I think a lot of that came from getting older, and from letting go of the
    pressure we put on ourselves in the past. We finally reached the point of saying, ‘Let’s just write the
    songs honestly as we can, and trust that they’ll reach whoever they’re meant to reach.’”
    The follow-up to Saturn Return—their 2020 Grammy-nominated LP co-produced by Brandi Carlile
    and lavishly praised by the likes of Rolling Stone—Mind, Man, Medicine finds The Secret Sisters
    co-producing alongside Ben Tanner (Alabama Shakes, St. Paul & the Broken Bones) and John Paul
    White (formerly of Grammy-winning duo the Civil Wars). “On Saturn Return we’d gotten much
    more confident as far as directing the sound of the record and knowing how to capture our voices in
    the most honest way, so it felt like the right time for our first foray into production,” says Rogers.
    The latest in a series of critically lauded releases, the album came to life at FAME Studios (the
    historic spot in their hometown of Muscle Shoals) and at Sun Drop Sound in nearby Florence, with
    contributions from such esteemed musicians as Alabama Shakes bassist Zac Cockrell and legendary
    multi-instrumentalist Larry Campbell (Paul Simon, Willie Nelson, Levon Helm).
    Referring to The Secret Sisters’ latest chapter as “one where we seek, savor, and settle,” the duo
    lifted the title to Mind, Man, Medicine from a lyric in “Same Water”: a gorgeously bluesy meditation
    on the search for healing in a profoundly troubled world, channeling both weariness and empathy
    with soulful conviction. “There’s a line in ‘Same Water’ that says ‘Mind or man or medicine/I have
    tried them all,’ which feels like it encompasses everything we were trying to say on this record,”
    Slagle explains. “In a lot of these songs we’re struggling with our own minds and emotions, with our
    relationships, and with whatever we’re using to try to cope and find relief.”
    In a lovely introduction to the album’s expansive sound, Mind, Man, Medicine opens on a hypnotic
    number called “Space.” With its stark yet sprawling arrangement of luminous piano, otherworldly
    synth, and moody guitar tones—achieved in part through Slagle’s performance on rubber bridge
    guitar—“Space” infuses an element of dreamy psychedelia into The Secret Sisters’ contemplation of
    human connection and all its intricacies. “It’s about recognizing that loving someone isn’t always
    going to be easy, especially when they have a belief or a political leaning that you disagree with,” says
    Rogers. “It’s so simple to project your desires onto someone else, but in the end you have to hold
    onto what you love and value about them, even when it gets tough.”
    In its lived-in exploration of what holds us together and tears us apart, Mind, Man, Medicine delves
    further into nuanced social commentary on “If the World Was a House.” “We’ve all heard about
    moments in history where people collectively experienced something very challenging, but ended up
    coming out of it stronger,” says Rogers. “When I look at the world around us, it seems like the
    pandemic didn’t have that effect—if anything, it feels like we’re even more divided now. That song is wrestling with a longing for everyone to take better care of each other, and to recognize that every
    person you share the planet with matters just as much as you do.”
    Astute observers of the heart’s most intimate dimensions, The Secret Sisters also offer up such
    wildly effusive love songs as “Paperweight”—a prime showcase for their deep-rooted country
    sensibilities, graced with galloping rhythms and a bit of exquisitely nimble fiddle work from
    Campbell. “I tend to go with the flow in a way that can be unhealthy, where I sometimes hold back
    from speaking up for myself because I don’t want to ruffle any feathers,” says Slagle. “But one thing
    that’s always made everything feel solid and stable is my relationship with my husband, so I wrote
    ‘Paperweight’ about having that person who keeps you grounded when you feel like you might just
    float away.” Meanwhile, on “All The Ways,” singer/songwriter Ray LaMontagne lends his raspy
    vocals to a slow-burning track touched with all the sublime simplicity and low-slung grooves of
    classic R&B. “I love those moments in a live show when everyone sings together and there’s a
    feeling of the artist and audience sharing in the song’s performance,” says Rogers. “I wanted to
    create a chorus like that—something everyone can sing at the top of their lungs—and eventually it
    evolved into a song about feeling strong and powerful in your own femininity.”
    Elsewhere on Mind, Man, Medicine, The Secret Sisters bring their layered introspection and boundless
    sensitivity to such complicated subjects as fractured friendships (“Never Walk Away”), the
    interconnectedness of love and advocacy (“I’ve Got Your Back”), the loss of identity often
    experienced in the early stages of motherhood (“Bear With Me”), and the singular joy of truly
    conditional love (“I Can Never Be Without You Anymore”). “Through our experience in raising
    children, Lydia and I have both had the realization that there’s nowhere we could go on this entire
    planet where our hearts won’t be with our kids,” says Rogers in discussing the inspiration behind “I
    Can Never Be Without You Anymore.” “That can be a difficult reality at times, but it’s glorious as
    well. I’m really proud of that one, and of the fact that we were able to write a love song that comes
    from a less painful place than many of our love songs in the past.”
    Looking back on the creation of Mind, Man, Medicine, The Secret Sisters reveal that the immense
    support of their fans played a major role in their willingness to tread previously uncharted emotional
    terrain. “I remember playing a show last fall and expressing my gratitude to the crowd that they’d
    come out to see us, because as mothers of young children we now understand how challenging that
    can be,” says Rogers. “Later on that night a woman came up to us with her daughter and husband
    and said something like, ‘I know it’s so hard to leave your babies—but you leaving your babies at
    home for a little while is what makes moments like this happen for other families.’ It was so
    gratifying to hear that, and reminded me of the whole purpose behind the music that we make: it’s to
    benefit the hearts of other people, anyone who needs that healing or validation or connection, or
    even just the space to cry. That’s why we keep doing this.”
  • Sam Doores

    Sam Doores

    Bluegrass