Sisters Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh perform together as Tigirlily Gold. They are the ACM Duo of the … [+]
It’s been a year of exciting new chapters for Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh, the talented sister duo who make up Tigirlily Gold.
The two, who left their native North Dakota seven years ago to pursue their country music dream, saw their first single, a catchy, upbeat song called “Shoot Tequila” make its way into the Top 40 country charts. In May, they took home the American Academy of Country Music’s “Best Duo of the Year” award, and also got to perform on the show. They sang “I Tried A Ring On,” before a global audience watching the ACM Awards on Amazon Prime. And now, they’ve released their debut album.
It’s called Blonde and features a collection of songs that highlight their gift for songwriting, strong family harmony, and signature girl band energy. Their first full album (which follows two previous EPs) is the latest in a string of career milestones.
Tigirlily Gold’s debut album “Blonde”
“I can’t believe half of the stuff that has happened to us over the past year,” says Kendra. “It’s been such a cool journey. And winning the ACM award is such a high honor. Getting that validation from the industry and knowing we’re being supported, and people believe in our vision and what we can bring to country music is very, very special.”
Tigirlily Gold is only the second female duo to ever win the award.
“The Kinleys won it 26 years ago, the same year Krista was born,” Kendra says. “Isn’t that crazy.”
In addition to winning the award, getting to perform one of their songs was also a big thrill for Tigerlily Gold.
“It allowed us to introduce our music to the mass country audience,” Krista says. “And yes, it was a lot of pressure, but we were very focused on the performance and portraying our music in the best way possible, so we didn’t even consider there were critics watching the show. But honestly, talk was good, and you’ve just got to be proud of yourself no matter what.”
Since that performance two months ago, the song, which is featured on the new album, has become their second to reach Top 40 on country radio. They’ve also seen positive reaction from the people who come to see them on tour.
“It’s been fun to see people singing along with the song at our shows,” says Kendra. “We did a festival a few weeks ago that was broken into two separate sets, and we didn’t perform the song in the first set. And during a meet-and-greet in-between, people kept asking, “Are you going to do “I Tried A Ring On?” So, it’s nice to see people paying attention to the song.
“I Tried A Ring On, “Shoot Tequila,” and “Leroy,” are three singles released ahead of time, but now the full album is available. It features ten tracks Krista and Kendra felt were the best to showcase their style and sound.
“We probably wrote between 40 to 60 songs for the record,” Krista says. “I mean, you don’t just write the perfect ten songs right away. So, there are other songs we’ll revisit in the future, but for our debut album, Kendra and I chose ten songs that were uniquely Tiger Gold.”
The sisters have spent years fine-tuning their craft. They were 14 and 16 and still in high school when they began performing together, with Kendra on lead vocals and Krista playing guitar and singing harmony.
They began playing shows and festivals across North Dakota and in neighboring states before eventually moving to Nashville. They both attended Belmont University, then began playing full-time in bars along Lower Broadway.
They are prolific songwriters who collaborate together, touching on a range of topics that come from life and their own experiences.
“We want to be artists that have a range,” Krista says, with Kendra adding, “We can have a fun, honky tonk party song, but we can also get very honest and very vulnerable.”
From a song called “Move On,” that talks about a woman making the first move to “Hometown” which looks at the positives and negatives of growing up in a small town to “Stupid Prizes” which has a message all its own.
“That song is kind of angsty,” Kendra says. “You play stupid games; you win stupid prizes. It’s all about, if you do me wrong and mess up a good thing, I’m done, I’m out of your life, you don’t get any part of me. And that’s the best kind of revenge.”
The sisters have worked hard to develop a strong sound and bring their unique brand of “girl band energy” to country music. After more than a decade of performing together, they are grateful their music is reaching more people.
Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh of Tigirlily Gold perform during Walkin’ After Midnight: The Music Of … [+]
“It hasn’t always been easy,” Krista says. “During the pandemic when we were playing Broadway full-time and we didn’t have any deals at that time, we had to really take a hard look in the mirror and think about how we’ve been doing this independently for seven to eight years now, trying our best, and doing everything we know to do. Do we still want this?”
To which Kendra adds, “And we said yes, we’re going to make this work no matter what. It’s going to work.”
And now that they’re starting to see some success, they are incredibly grateful.
“It’s really cool to just enjoy the journey,” Kendra says. “Every day something new pops up that we’re excited about.”
“We just love to write and create music,” says Krista. “Those are our two favorite things and everything else is just a pleasant surprise.”