The Willow Sisters

The Willow Sisters 

Words by Carmen Macri

Much like the songs of a weeping willow, twins Kristen and Brittany Rogers have voices so soothing you will find yourself in a trance.

The sisters have been singing alongside each other since before they can remember. Growing up, they had a burning passion for music. Kristen mentioned that for every holiday (and birthday) they were given the same present every year—a new microphone—and it never got old. From an incredibly early age, Kristen and Brittany both knew they wanted to pursue a career in music, but it was not until early 2016 that they began making their dream a reality. 

 

It is the perfect Florida winter day, sunny and 80 degrees. I stroll out to the back patio of Palm Valley Outdoors just in time to hear the Willow Sisters’ rendition of “Radioactive,” a song I could have sworn I hated but not their version. Voices like velvet take a once-overplayed track and create something brand new. After their first two songs, the crowd starts to loosen up. Couples of all ages join the band in dancing along to popular love songs, swaying to the beat feeling like they might be the only people in this restaurant. 

 

The percussionist, Eastman Curtis, is wearing a smile like no other. He looks like the epitome of “just happy to be here.” With his timely slaps on his djembe, a skin-covered goblet drum played with bare hands and tuned with rope, he keeps the tempo intact with Michael Bennick strumming the guitar so perfectly and Kris Joslyn on bass never missing a beat. Kristen and Brittany effortlessly perform songs covering practically every genre and multiple decades. Cyndi Lauper, Def Leppard, Blink 182 … they played something for everyone in the crowd. 

 

After they finished with their first set, we had 15 minutes to chat before they had to be back on stage. Currently, the Willow Sisters only play cover songs, but they have been hard at work creating their own sound and are preparing to release their first EP. “We are kind of working on a more cinematic type of EP. We want the listeners to visualize what is happening in the song,” Kristen explained.

Taking inspiration from Miley Cyrus, Rhianna and Tove Lo, Brittany said that for their own music, they love to blend all genres. They think it is important to note that their original music is nothing like the songs they cover. 

“It’s more electronic/pop based versus like the acoustic/chill music that we do live. It’s very different but we love it,” Kristen said. 

I was lucky enough to have a close friend of theirs give me a sneak peek of one of their unreleased songs during their break. I could not listen to the whole track, but from what I heard, it was dark and moody, much like the vibe they are trying to create for this EP. 

The Willow Sisters have worked with music producers all over the country including Grammy Award winner Vinny Venditto who has worked with Eminem, DJ Khalid, 2Chainz, Nikki Minaj, Ceelo Green, FloRida and Justin Bieber. 

“We travel to work on music a lot. We’ll go to Miami since our producer is there, and we’ll go to Nashville,” Brittany explained. And while they do travel around the country to create their music, they stick to their roots when performing it, tending to stick around North Florida. Because of this, they have curated quite the audience with fans following them from Ponte Vedra Beach to Destin. 

Writing music isn’t the only thing Kristen and Brittany have in the books for their careers; they are also working toward getting their music in movies and TV shows. The sisters have already had meetings in L.A. to discuss the perfect visual vehicle to showcase their original music, like a spot on a popular show on Netflix or HBO. Until then, the Willow Sisters will continue to do what they love—play live for their fans. 

If you are interested learning more about the Willow Sisters, check them out on Spotify, Apple Music and Instagram (@thewillowsisters).