{"id":25580,"date":"2022-03-21T09:45:48","date_gmt":"2022-03-21T13:45:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=25580"},"modified":"2022-03-21T09:45:52","modified_gmt":"2022-03-21T13:45:52","slug":"on-stage-plus-whitmore-sisters-bring-harmony-to-city-winery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/?p=25580","title":{"rendered":"On Stage Plus: Whitmore Sisters bring harmony to City Winery"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff<\/strong>, Entertainment Editor, The Times<\/em><\/p>\n

\"\"

The Whitmore Sisters<\/p><\/div>\n

It will be a family affair when the Whitmore Sisters open for the Mastersons on March 21 at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, citywinery.com\/philadelphia<\/a>).<\/p>\n

The Whitmore Sisters — Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore — are two of roots music\u2019s most accomplished songwriters\/instrumentalists\/vocalists.<\/p>\n

The Mastersons are singer-songwriters\/multi-instrumentalists Chris Masterson and Eleanor Whitmore. \u00a0In addition to making albums on their own, they also are longtime members of Steve Earle’s band the Dukes.<\/p>\n

Bonnie Whitmore has released four albums on her own. The Mastersons also have four albums on their resume.<\/p>\n

Recently, the sisters got together and released an album of music they made together. Their debut LP, \u201cGhost Stories,\u201d was released on\u00a0January 21, 2022 on Red House Records.<\/p>\n

The album is mainly originals along with two covers — \u201cBig Heart Sick Mind,\u201d a song by their friend, and \u201cOn the Wings of a Nightingale,\u201d which was written by Paul McCartney for The Everly Brothers. It was produced by Chris Masterson. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is our first attempt at making our own album together,\u201d said Eleanor, during a phone interview last week.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have played together a lot. And Bonnie has performed on albums by The Mastersons.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonnie said, \u201cIn a way, the pandemic helped get this thing off the ground. It gave us time. \u00a0We started writing together over Zoom.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the band\u2019s website, Bonnie wrote, \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of loss, a couple of dead ex-boyfriends, and a lot of friends that have passed on \u2013 and writing about the grief, especially working towards this record, there\u2019s been a lot to consider.\u201d<\/p>\n

For the sisters, making the album was a cathartic experience rather than a sad experience.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were writing about friends we had left behind,\u201d said Eleanor. \u201cWe\u2019ve had a lot of loss. We\u2019ve always approached songwriting as a form of therapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing through the pandemic was a time we all experienced. We\u2019ve lost a lot of heroes \u2013 a lot of people we cherished.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bonnie, who lives in Austin, Texas added, \u201cSongwriting is a way to celebrate people we lost.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cGhost Stories,\u201d was recorded at Casa de Masterson and The Station House in Los Angeles. It was produced by Chris Masterson and engineered by Masterson and Mark Rains.<\/p>\n

\u201cGoing in, Bonnie had a couple finished songs and I had some songs that weren\u2019t finished,\u201d said Eleanor, who lives in Los Angeles.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe initial inspiration for the album was too narrow. We had to make it more universal. We don\u2019t question where the inspiration comes from. We\u2019re just glad it comes.\u201d<\/p>\n

With the Whitmore sisters, who are five-and-a-half years apart, music is also a family affair. It\u2019s in their DNA.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur mom was a classically trained,\u201d said Bonnie. \u201cShe\u2019s an opera singer. We\u2019ve been listening to opera from the womb.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur dad was a folksinger. We were much more popular music lovers.<\/p>\n

\u201cMusic was always there. We didn\u2019t have much choice.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for the Whitmore Sisters \u2013 https:\/\/youtu.be\/7RzaRh6E6bY<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show at City Winery will start at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20.<\/p>\n

Area music fans who love listening to acts with great female vocal harmonies are really in luck this week.<\/p>\n

There are the great harmonies by the Whitmore Sisters on Monday and equally impressive harmonies by the Wailin\u2019 Jennys on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

\"\"

The Wailin\u2019 Jennys<\/p><\/div>\n

On March 23, the World Caf\u00e9 Live (3025 Walnut Street, Philadelphia, 215-222-1400, www.worldcafelive.com<\/a>) will host the Wailin\u2019 Jennys, one of Canada\u2019s premier folk\/roots act.<\/p>\n

The trio, which was formed in Winnipeg, Manitoba, features Ruth Moody (vocals, banjo, guitar), Nicky Mehta (vocals, guitar, drums) and Heather Masse (vocals, upright bass). Founding member Cara Luft is no longer with the band<\/p>\n

The group was founded in 2002, when a\u00a0Winnipeg\u00a0guitar shop called Sled Dog Music brought\u00a0Moody,\u00a0Mehta\u00a0and\u00a0Luft\u00a0together for a joint performance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe were all writing and performing as solo artists in the Winnipeg folk scene,\u201d said Mehta, during a phone interview Wednesday from her home in Manitoba\u2019s capital. \u201cThe, we did a show together at Sled Dog Music.\u201d<\/p>\n

The show was well received and the owner, John Sharples, scheduled a follow-up performance and suggested they go on tour.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe put together a self-titled EP to sell at the merch table,\u201d said Mehta. \u201cWe released our debut album, \u201940 Days\u2019 in 2004. It was well-received.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe album won the 2005 Juno Award Roots & Traditional Album of the Year. We were pretty much committed at that point. We were working a lot. It just sort of grew steadily from there.\u201d<\/p>\n

The trio\u2019s sophomore album, \u201cFirecracker,\u201d in 2006 was a strong follow-up. The LP was nominated for a Juno Award and won a 2007 Folk Alliance Award for Contemporary Release of the Year. The album spent more than a year on the Billboard charts.<\/p>\n

The Wailin\u2019 Jenny\u2019s third album brought them to Pennsylvania where they recorded a live show. \u201cLive at the Mauch Chunk Opera House,\u201d was released in 2009.<\/p>\n

The pattern of releasing an album every two or three years continued through their fourth album \u2013 \u201cBright Morning Stars,\u201d which was released in 2011. The Jenny\u2019 fifth and most recent album \u2013 \u201cFifteen\u201d \u2013 shattered the pattern. It was released six-and-a-half years after the Juno-winning \u201cBright Morning Stars.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThere was a six-year gap between albums because of children,\u201d said Mehta. \u201cLots of children came along. Plus, Heather is American and has lived in Maine and New Mexico. And Ruth moved around a lot.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe toured all over Canada \u2013 except Newfoundland and then started moving into the states and Australia. Once we had kids, we focused on the states.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur music hasn\u2019t changed much over the years. We\u2019ve kept things pretty consistent. We\u2019ve always had a lot of influences \u2013 a broad range of influences.\u201d<\/p>\n

Video link for The Wailin\u2019 Jennys — https:\/\/youtu.be\/ElWkcqF0VE8<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The show on March 23 will start at 8 p.m.<\/p>\n

Ticket prices start at $45.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Denny Dyroff, Entertainment Editor, The Times It will be a family affair when the Whitmore Sisters open for the Mastersons on March 21 at City Winery (990 Filbert Street, Philadelphia, citywinery.com\/philadelphia). The Whitmore Sisters — Eleanor and Bonnie Whitmore — are two of roots music\u2019s most accomplished songwriters\/instrumentalists\/vocalists. The Mastersons are singer-songwriters\/multi-instrumentalists Chris Masterson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":25578,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4357],"tags":[10342,3162,10340,10341],"class_list":["post-25580","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-d-arts-entertainment","tag-city-winery","tag-featured","tag-the-whitmore-sisters","tag-wailin-jennys"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=25580"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25581,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25580\/revisions\/25581"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/25578"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=25580"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=25580"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/downingtowntimes.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=25580"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}