THE HOBBS SISTERS

Wednesday October 19, 2022

@ Live Oak in Nashville, TN

(Review by: Jeffrey Kurtis)

There just isn’t anything quite like sibling harmonies; let alone when they come from twins.

They’re always crisp, they’re always intriguing, and they’re always in good timing with one another as if each knows exactly what the other is going to do vocally before they actually do it, so that they can match them note for note.

This is exactly the case with The Hobbs Sisters, Hannah and Lauren.

The Pittsburgh sibling duo, who now call Nashville home, have been carving out their path amongst Music City’s scene on the back of buzzed about performances and hotly received singles for years, but as this night stood to prove, they’ve not only continuously grown as performers, artists, and songwriters, but are a bona fide contender for the next big thing. 

A traditional styled Nashville songwriter round, which consisted of co-writers/friends of The Hobbs Sisters - Sean Swenson, Kelly McKay, and Nell Maynard - warmed up the crowd who packed into music aficionado hotspot Live Oak on Demonbreun Hill, located just a mile Southwest of the flashing neon lights of the Lower Broadway music district.

Swenson took us straight into the bar on two different occasions over his three songs. He first told the happy story of meeting his better half for the first time with the catchy, head bobber “Best Beer I Ever Bought,” and would then encourage us to be kind to everyone we meet because we never know what they’re going through on “The Regulars.” 

Kelly McKay, though she started off with a hilariously memorable kiss-off song, “Try Kissing,” shifted to heart tugging, softer paced tunes “Asking For a Girl” and “This Guitar Ain’t Over You,” the latter which she wrote with The Hobbs Sisters after a conversation they all had about how sometimes your guitar knows you better than you know yourself.

Nell Maynard, not only showcased her witty, often sarcastic personality, but put on a songwriting display with “Hell in Hello” and “Last Day of Summer,” which she announced as being her one happy song as she talked optimistically about living in the moment of a relationship with positive, hope-filled lines about kissing like it’s the last one, etc.

But as solid as each of these three songwriters are, their praise of Lauren and Hannah, as well as the countless fans who were excitedly bubbling with anticipation, clearly showed that this night was 100% about The Hobbs Sisters, who with a full-band showcase, were celebrating the upcoming release of their new single “Love Breaks All The Rules.”

As the drums pounded out a rhythm that radiated through Live Oak and cascaded out onto Demonbreun Street, the backing band pulsated a beat that brought The Hobbs Sisters to the stage, showered by a rousing ovation as they kicked into their set with “That’s When I Think About You,” which saw both Lauren and Hannah aptly patrolling the center of the stage as they bounced along to the midtempo drive while allowing their signature harmonies to soar, immediately pulling the enthusiastic crowd into their set.

As Hannah clapped out the tempo on her leg, she enticed the crowd to do the same as Lauren danced across the stage and had the crowd in the palm of her hand, singing along with “What If It Was,” as the duo dove back to their buzzed about 2021 release, Turn It Up.

“We put out this song in August,” told Hannah. “We wrote it for everyone out there who is looking for love and how hard it can be to not settle on something less than you deserve,” she finished as they kept the crowd singing along with them when they played their latest single “If You Wanted To” as they moved within the pocket of the melody while the crowd did the same.

After delving into “Save My Love,” Lauren opened her personal diary when she shared that “Harder Than a Diamond” was the first song she wrote about her fiancé who she was marrying in two months, while introducing it as being all about finding that person in life that you could go through anything with. 

“Picture Off the Wall” pushed its outro into a danceable, groovy guitar lick that dropped right into “Say Yes” as the crowd bounced along with Lauren and Hannah, tapping their toes on their bar stool rims, and clapping along during the infectious breakdown into the final chorus of the song.

“This is our brand new single that comes out on Friday,” Lauren excitedly shared as Hannah slid into the lead position on “Love Breaks All the Rules,” a song which is the perfect follow-up to “If You Wanted To” as it leans on a catchy, mid-tempo feel that progressively builds to the chorus as they slap their harmonies into a melody that keeps you swaying along with it as your shoulders dance.

With a heartfelt thank you to everyone who showed up to support them, and a gratitude filled appreciation for Nell, Kelly, and Sean for opening the show, The Hobbs Sisters rounded out their set with one last feel-good anthem, “Simple, Good Life.”

So, what potentially makes The Hobbs Sisters the next big thing?

The simple answer is that they encompass a perfect mix of all the necessary ingredients.

Their incredible comfort level on-stage throughout this performance played a major role in keeping the crowd invested and interacting with them, making them just as big a part of the show.

Then couple that with the pure energy they displayed, while with expert precision, how they allowed their signature harmonies to shine brightly while also giving each other opportunities to show off the attributes that make them unique from one another, effectively injecting two different flavors into their music that could then blend into one another perfectly.

Then mix that together with insatiably catchy songs that are built for today’s mainstream country radio, and you have all the right ingredients working together that tells us it’s just a matter of time for The Hobbs Sisters – not if, but when!

FULL SET LIST

1) That’s When I Think About You

2) What If It Was

3) If You Wanted To

4) Save My Love

5) Harder Than a Diamond

6) Picture Off the Wall

7) Say Yes

8) Love Breaks All the Rules

9) Simple, Good Life

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