JANUARY 2017: The Grayling brother-and-sister duo brings its fetching, acoustic-based approach to Grand Rapids on Thursday after releasing an album of originals in 2016, with plans for extensive touring this year.
THE BAND: Oh Brother Big SisterTHE MUSIC: Jazz- and rock-hued acoustic indie-folk with looping
WHERE YOU CAN SEE THE BAND: 8 p.m. Thursday (Jan .5) at Elk Brewing in Grand Rapids; Jan. 13 at Dead Bear Brewing Co. in Grayling
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Northern Michigan siblings Penny Jean and Radel Rosin grew up on stage, playing talent shows across Michigan with other family members and later forming their own bands as they grew older.
“Finally, we got smart and realized it would be way more fun to just perform as a duo,” Penny Jean says of forming Oh Brother Big Sister with her brother three years ago. “We had performed together as a duo for various events and it was always very easy to bring together a performance with very little practice. I guess it was the perks of knowing each other since birth.”
Pursuing music full time since March 2014, the genre-melding, Grayling-based duo released an album of originals, “Thanks & Praise,” last January, and plays venues across Michigan, not to mention touring out-of-state.
The duo’s sets showcase a fetching combination of styles, with striking sibling harmonies and looped instrumentals enhancing a mix of cover songs and original material. (Watch a video of a duo performance below.)
“We just put our own spin on everything. If we feel it, we play it,” Penny Jean says of Oh Brother Big Sister, which generally describes its music as acoustic indie-folk, jazz and rock.
“We put harmonies on most everything as that is what comes naturally. We usually start out our sets with acoustic songs and then merge into looping in more instruments. Eventually, there is beatboxing, didgeridoo and all sorts of other noises coming from Radel.”
The collection of originals came after the duo – Penny Jean, 32, on vocals and Radel, 27, on guitar and loops – released an album of cover songs, “We Have It Covered.” The duo is back in the recording studio this month and in February “working on a few projects” and plan to release another live cover album based on fan requests.
ON STAGE BY THE AGE OF 3, GROWING UP IN A MUSICAL FAMILY
“We write much of our music live. If we like it, we save the loop and try to remember what we sang,” Penny Jean says, noting the duo continues to add parts “until we get the right arrangement. Often, Radel will bring a song to me and I will help write words, a bridge or chorus to it.”
All of it comes naturally for a brother and sister who were engulfed by music while growing up in the small community of Frederic, Mich.
“In our family, the rule was you were on stage by the age of 3,” Penny Jean recalls. “Our family is very musical. All of our cousins are musicians as well. We were raised with generations of music. Our grandparents, parents, aunts and uncles each taught us about great music from their lifetimes.”
As a result, Penny Jean and Radel have soaked up an eclectic mix of styles. Radel leans toward “jam bands and more technical players” such as Dave Matthews, Jimi Hendrix and Umphrey’s McGee, with Penny gravitating toward Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole, Billie Holiday, Lettuce, Sia and Nelly Furtado.
“I am pretty sure there isn’t a genre of music we don’t appreciate,” Penny Jean says. “We apply our love of all genres into our own music. It seems to speak to our listeners.”
Those listeners will get plenty of opportunities to catch the duo live in 2017.
“Our summer schedule is getting crazy fast and we couldn’t be more excited. We have been having lots of fun playing shows in the southwestern side of Michigan lately and have felt very welcomed by everyone,” Penny Jean says. “We love looking out and seeing people singing along to our original songs.”
VIDEO: Oh Brother Big Sister, “1999 Real”
Copyright 2017, Spins on Music LLC