The Trishas and Kevin Welch

Presented by Sylvia Rusche

The independent music series comes to a close with a family reunion of sorts. The Trishas and Kevin Welch perform on Saturday June 9th, bringing their vocal harmonies and unique song writing. The four principal members of Austin’s The Trishas are Savannah Welch, Kelley Mickwee, Liz Foster, and Jamie Wilson. Appearing this same evening will be Savannah's father, famed songwriter Kevin Welch. Frequent visitors to The Studio@620 may recall Kevin Welch's prior performance here in 2011.

About The Trishas

The Trishas self-released debut, They Call Us The Trishas, a five-song “mini album”, was released to warm reviews and enthusiastic fan reaction in August 2010. It wasn’t long before they began nabbing plumb opening-act gigs with the likes of Dwight Yoakam, Raul Malo, Rodney Crowell, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Todd Snider, as well as studio work singing on two of 2010’s most acclaimed Americana releases, Kevin Welch’s A Patch of Blue Sky and Ray Wylie Hubbard’s A. Enlightenment, B. Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C).

As potent as they all are as a unit, it’s the combo plate of unique styles and personalities each Trisha brings to the table that makes the group truly, well, sing. “We all have different strengths,” says Liz, “and because of that we’ve been able to educate each other in a lot of different things. I think that’s what’s really connected us more and made us stronger, being able to feed off each other.” To wit: Liz, with a background in Motown revues, stands out with her rafter-raising, gospel-mama boom of a voice and assertive harp. “Musically, Liz brings the Joe Cocker to the group — she’s the wailer,” says Jamie, who in turn leans more to the country/folk side of the fence and is the group’s primary guitarist. “Jamie’s our rock, because she’s the one who has been playing the longest and is the best and the strongest at it,” says Kelley. “Like, we can’t do a gig without her.” Kelley, born in Birmingham and raised in Memphis, brings a heaping helping of bluesy, southern soul to the mix — along with what Jamie calls “a very strong right hand” on mandolin that keeps the band in rhythmic step sans a bass player. And Savannah? “I bring the learning curve,” she offers. “I’m the rookie on deck.” The others share her laugh, but note that she also brings a certain je nais ce quoi “chill factor.” “I don’t know how to describe it, but Savannah’s got a really, really strong voice that has the most delicate little break in it,” observes Jamie. “There’s not really a classification for it, but it’s like the Patty Griffin thing, where there’s just a lot of movement.” Jamie, a native of Sealy, Texas, cut her teeth playing in the alt-country band The Gougers, which recorded four albums over the course of seven years before she struck out on her own with a solo EP, 2008’s Dirty Blonde Hair.

To hear a sample of their music, click here.

About Kevin Welch

Kevin Welch's is an American country music artist whose roots span from California and Oklahoma around the globe to his current home base near Austin, Texas. He has charted five singles on the Billboard Hot Country Songs charts and released eight studio albums. In 2009, he recorded A Patch Of Blue Sky, his first solo project in 8 years. The tour in support of this release brought him to The Studio@620 in 2011. The recording features Texas musicians as well as his son Dustin, who played banjo and slide guitar, and his daughter Savannah, who appeared with her band the Trishas.
To hear a sample of his music, click here.