There is nothing I love more than blood harmonies. From the Carter Family, to the Louvin Brothers, to the modern-day sibling duo of the Secret Sisters. The natural interweaving of two or more voices harmonizing in perfect complement to each other can seemingly only be that of those who share DNA. Or, so I thought. Play the self-titled debut EP from My sister, My Brother and you may be delightfully surprised at the effortless harmony this new trio is capable of. They have forged something so beautiful that I am overwhelmed with emotion nearly every time I listen to it. What’s even more amazing is that this project came to fruition by nothing more than a “happy accident” or sheer coincidence.

Acclaimed singer-songwriters, Sean McConnell, Garrison Starr, and Peter Groenwald are full of surprises. They even surprised themselves when they got together for a songwriting retreat that incidentally led to the birth of My Sister, My Brother and the extraordinary EP of the same name. They were brought together to write at a retreat that was organized for a television series. Their work would then be submitted for consideration to be featured in the series trailer. The group met in Nashville at Peter’s home studio to throw around their ideas. Groenwald explained that what they were sharing with each other was personal and not necessarily fitting for the TV series, but it felt more natural than anything they had each done before. They couldn’t help but to continue sharing and pulling those feelings out of each other. He described how it was a very therapeutic and inspiring writing session. The song just flowed out of them as though they were reading each other’s minds. The song that he is referring to is “Nothing Without You,” the first single off of the EP. The song is stark with just piano accompaniment, yet lush with passionate harmony. It’s the perfect collaboration between music and vocals to portray the yearning for companionship that the song illustrates. “There’s a power in our weakness/ That’s how all the light shines through/ Can you help me in my darkness/ I have nothing without you” 

It’s rare that a planned songwriting session produces such a cohesive bond between artists that are not much more than just familiar with each other. So, when the trio finished the first song, they knew there needed to be more. They knew destiny brought them together to create the songs that shape the human experience of navigating life’s difficult relationships with hope and contentment. From there, they made plans to meet up again in Nashville a few more times. Out of those rendezvous’, they put together a half dozen more songs which they pulled five from for the self-titled EP.

Leading up to the March 6 EP distribution, “Nothing Without You” released January 10 and was followed up by “Don’t Know How to Love You” on February 7 of this year. The second track on the EP, “Drive You Home,” is a response song to the front-runner, “Nothing Without You.” The companionship and need to be healed is then being fulfilled on that following track. “When you’re drunk and lonely/ Call me on the phone/ I will drive you home.” “Don’t Know How to Love You” comes in with a very ethereal feeling between the percussion and Garrison Starr’s solo vocals. The power of the song builds as Sean joins Garrison on this ballad of frustration over a complicated relationship. “There’s nothing standing in between the space between but/ There’s something broken in the way/ That I don’t know how to love you/ I don’t know how to love you.” “Forever Now” is an up-tempo offering about time’s guiding force in our lives. A reminder to not take our time on earth for granted. The final song on the EP, “Honest,” goes out easy with an acoustic guitar and mystic harmony. The song presents a guarded hope of expectations being met. “I wanna say I’m the one you can trust/ I wanna tell you that love is enough/ I wanna show you I won’t let you down/ That it’s all gonna be different now.”

Opportunities for songwriters and musicians to catch lightning in a bottle do not often present themselves so naturally as they did for this trio. Peter described the process as “magical” and they all immediately knew they wanted to pursue more writing sessions together. There is no fancy production or large band here. The masterful songwriting and stripped-down instrumentation are all that is needed to produce and convey the emotion of each song. Groenwald defined the album as “sort of a collection of hymns.” These songs will “take you to church” in a restorative way to identify with the human experience.

To promote his own solo project, Sean McConnell just returned home from headlining a tour through parts of the U.S. in January and the U.K. in February. He brought along with him Garrison Starr to open and share her own upcoming solo project work. Together during Sean’s set, they performed the My Sister, My Brother tracks. No public details yet, but they plan to return to the road and are hoping to bring Peter to join them. So be on the look out for additional tour date announcements for the new songwriting supergroup.

All songs were written, performed, and produced by My Sister, My Brother: Peter Groenwald, Sean McConnell, and Garrison Starr. My Sister, My Brother was recorded by Peter Groenwald at Oldest Bird Studio in Hendersonville, TN. Additional recording by Sean McConnell at Silent Desert Studio, Nolensville, TN. Mixed by Ryan Hewitt at House of Blues Studios, Nashville, TN. Mastered by Andrew Mendelson & Darby at Georgetown Masters, Nashville, TN.

Peter Groenwald: Piano, B3, Juno, Bass, Acoustic Guitar, Drums, Percussion

Sean McConnell: Vocals, Electric & Acoustic Guitars, Drums, Harmonica, Percussion

Garrison Starr: Vocals, Acoustic Guitar, Percussion

My Sister, My Brother:

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