Sweet Harmonies Deliver a Message to the Detractors

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For my lucky 13th concert of the year I finally saw an act that I've never seen before. Saturday (5/27) I made my first appearance at a concert by Alabama's Secret Sisters. The Secret Sisters (last name is Rogers, not "secret") made a big splash on the traditional/alt-country and Americana scene with their debut album in 2009. Despite the commercial and critical success the sisters enjoyed, their record label dumped them after their second album. Worse, their former manager sued them. The combination of events forced the sisters to abandon performing and taking "day jobs" to keep from having to file bankruptcy. All of that is behind them now, and their forthcoming album, You Don't Own Me Anymore, has several songs that deal with those troublesome years (suggested in some songs, very blatant in others [such as the title song, a not-too-subtle remark to those who had wronged the duo in the past]). They played nine of the twelve songs in their set that featured their simply gorgeous harmonies that will remind you of the Davis Sisters or the Everly Brothers. In fact, at one point, they said they were obligated to do an Everly Brothers song, given how they were "on Kentucky soil." The show featured the Secret Sisters' blend of traditional country (they did a Bill Monroe song and Eddy Arnold's "Make the World Go Away" in the set) and their own originals that are part bluesy country and part rockabilly. The audience was delighted. This new album was funded by "crowd source" funding, proving that the Secret Sisters' fans believe in them more than that old record label did. As Laura Rogers said before they sang the title song, "the one people who know what's best for the Secret Sisters is the Secret Sisters." They are back, better than ever. And no, "they" don't own the Secret Sisters anymore. Good for the Secret Sisters -- and all of us.