Each woman has had a storied career, marked by intensely emotional vocals, songs that dig deeper towards the heart of the human condition and very different career trajectories, yet at their roots Grammy-winner Shelby Lynne and Oscar-nominated Allison Moorer are sisters -- and the common blood is what binds their disparate kinds of roots music together like a mandrake root.
After years of enlisting each other's help on various projects and one-off shows, Lynne and Moorer are going "Side by Side" for a short run of tour dates this fall. Beginning October 3rd at Golden Gate State Park, the women will first join voices as part of San Francisco's storied Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival. They will then pick up for later in the fall for a November 27 show at Tarrytown Music Hall in Tarrytown, NY, a pair of shows Nov. 29-30 at the DC area's legendary Birchmere in Alexandria, Virginia and ultimately bringing it all back home for a Dec. 4 show at the Saenger Theatre in Mobile, AL.
"I am so happy Sissy and I are able to do this," says New York resident Moorer, recently a mother to John Henry. "We've talked about it for so many years, now we're finally going to."
Moorer released the critically-heralded Crows, produced by longtime collaborator RS Fields, in February. Lynne released her Tears, Lies and Alibis, the debut release on her own Everso Records. In addition to the CD release, hardcore fans will be able to buy a vinyl version Oct. 19 -- the week after Lynne releases her seasonal Merry Christmas
Lynne who came to prominence as a teenager whose fiery vocal presence suggested classic country divas, but that flame was tempered with a definite darkness She has explored far beyond the mainstream country Billy Sherrill and Bob Montgomery thought she was perfect for. The intense vocalist has made swing records Temptation singer/songwriter records Love, Shelby, a wonderful Dusty Springfield tribute Just A Little LOving and her seminal I Am Shellby Lynne.
Moorer, who would sing background vocals for her sister as a college student, took a subtler approach -- mining a decidedly roots country that yielded the metaphoric exploration of a theme The Duel, the decidedly cheerful Steve Earle-produced Getting Somewhere, the Buddy Miller-produced covers collection Mockingbird and the recent noir consideration of adult womanhood Crows and as Oscar-nomination for "Soft Place To Fall," the theme from Robert Redford's "The Horse Whisperer."
The shows are slated to be intimate, acoustic and -- knowing the sisters -- hilarious. With the kinetics of Lynne's voice and Moorer's more velvety lushness, there is no texture, color or form the sisters can't bring to life -- and finally, two decades after Lynne stepped on the national stage, the world can experience what makes these siblings such singular, but immense talents.
