Two beautiful voices, one acoustic guitar, one amazing show. Alabama siblings Laura and Lydia Rogers brought a stripped-down version of their neo-traditional roots country music to a sold out Sugar Club on Tuesday night. Delivering a strong set that mixed covers of great classics with a smattering of new tracks from a forthcoming album, The Secret Sisters captivated and charmed the packed Sugar Club.
Canadian three-piece Lucette, playing on their maiden tour, opened. Led by singer-songwriter and pianist Lauren Gillis, they turned out some nice, spare, roots and Americana tunes. They had some solid songs and the piano as the lead instrument puts an interesting spin on the genre, they’re definitely worth checking out.
The Secret Sisters, Laura and Lydia Rogers took to the stage at 9pm with a lone acoustic guitar between them. Although they had a band behind them on their début album, the pared back performance which followed really put their exquisite harmonies to the fore. These wonderful vocals were lavished on a set that drew on four tracks from their record and covers ranging from Hank Williams to Patsy Cline, Sam Cooke to The Everly Brothers; and it also showcased five new original songs of real quality.
Opening with “The One I Love Is Gone”, and moving through songs recorded by legends such as George Jones, Patsy Cline, and The Everly Brothers, The Secret Sisters were at their brilliant best. Back to back new songs “Tomorrow Will Be Kinder” and vocal tour de force “Bad Habit” were show stopping numbers; while a couple of songs from their album, “Do You Love an Apple” and “Tennessee Me”, followed by classics from Hank Williams, Sam Cooke and the spiritual “In The Sweet By & By” rounded out the first part of the set.
After the briefest of walk-offs the sisters came back on stage for two more songs, “Little Again”, a new song pining for innocent childhood days, and an a capella version of “Tonight You Belong To Me” finished off what was a terrific show.
In addition to being fabulous singers and increasingly strong songwriters, both sisters also have charming stage presence. The between song banter, mostly coming from Laura was always funny; and the frequent heartfelt nods to their influences, coupled with vignettes of their upbringing in a southern family gave a wonderfully genuine feel to their performance. It wasn’t just a concert, more an intimate evening of sharing songs on the porch for the love of the music, and it felt like we were all one big family for an hour.