In the 1990s and early ’00s, female groups and duos including The Chicks, SheDaisy and The Kinleys wielded charismatic harmonies and infused their songs with a glossy pop sheen, dynamic hooks and moments of bold, female empowerment.
Sisters, musicians and North Dakota natives Kendra and Krista Slaubaugh, known professionally as Tigirlily Gold, are determined to extend that lineage, most powerfully on their four-song EP, Blonde, that is out today (June 23) on Monument Records. The project’s “Shoot Tequila” is currently at No. 51 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
“There’s this whole girl group energy, and our whole goal as a band is to bring back more of that girl group, family band energy to country music,” Kendra tells Billboard, sitting in the Nashville offices of Tigirlily’s publisher, SMACKSongs.
The sisters’ career marks a hybrid of modern and traditional — a duo who spent years performing on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, honing their live show and crowd interactions and sharpening their musical dynamic with a steady gig at Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row restaurant, but who ultimately broke through in 2021 with a viral TikTok hit, “Somebody Does.” That same year, they issued a self-titled, independent EP and signed with Monument.
Tigirlily follows in a relatively brief list of familial female duos in country music. The Judds (composed of mother-daughter duo Wynonna Judd and her late mother Naomi) are the only female duo in the Country Music Hall of Fame; In the 1980s and 1990s, sisters Janis and Kristine Oliver, known as Sweethearts of the Rodeo, earned nine CMA Awards vocal duo of the year nominations. Sister duo The Kinleys (Heather and Jennifer) notched ‘90s hits including “Please,” while two of Country Music Hall of Fame member Loretta Lynn’s children, Patsy and Peggy formed the duo The Lynns. More recently, mother-daughter team Tekitha and Prana Supreme launched O.N.E The Duo, releasing songs including “Feels Good.”
On Blonde, Tigirlily’s brand of pop-country embodies a certain fearlessness — whether enticing a love interest in “Move On,” boldly getting the party started in “Shoot Tequila,” or contemplating the potentially life-altering impact of simply lightening both hair and perspective, as shown on the album’s title track and centerpiece.
Billboard caught up with Tigirlily Gold to discuss their musical journey, their time sharpening their performance skills on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, and crafting their new EP alongside creatives like Alex Kline and Scott Stepakoff.
“Blonde” is such a fun, uplifting song, but it also has this great line about “It’s a Dolly Parton state of mind/ It’s Marilyn leaving Norma Jean behind.” How did this song come about?
Kendra: Alex started playing this guitar riff and we felt like there was magic in the room and we were just trying to grab it all. I had the title “Blonde,” and I was like, “I don’t even know what this title idea means, but I know it’s something fun and confident.” Scott said, ‘It’s like a Dolly Parton state of mind,” and we were like, “Yes!” Then after that, the whole song just fell out and we knew that’s what we were chasing for the rest of the EP. When people hear it, we want them to feel excited, happy and joyful.
You moved from North Dakota to Nashville in 2017, enrolled at Nashville’s Belmont University and played on Lower Broadway, at music venues like Nudie’s Honky Tonk and Whiskey Row. What did you learn from those years of performing?
Krista: We played at Nudie’s for about a year and worked out our show, and then auditioned at Whiskey Row.
Kendra: We played the 10:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m. shifts at Whiskey Row — those shifts are wild — and then we started building this residency, where people knew we were going to play every week. Overall, the best part of Broadway is that it prepares you for any live stage experience, different crowds, different people.
“Shoot Tequila,” which you wrote with Kevin Griffin and David Mescon, was inspired by your time playing on Broadway.
Kendra: When you perform three or four times a week, playing “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” or “Friends in Low Places” every single show, you realize those songs do not get old. You feel like, “How do I get that kind of magic?”
Krista: “Shoot Tequila” is definitely our honkytonk, “let’s go girls” kind of anthem. It’s fun to see this song take off. It’s a party song, but it also tells a cool part of our story.
Did Dierks ever drop by at Whiskey Row while you were there?
Krista: He did. He would come in and wave, and one time he even posted about us on his Instagram, which we thought was very cool. We really appreciate that.
How has social media and streaming data helped you identify tour markets and stay connected with fans?
We are from a town of 2,000 people, so we always had to be on social media to connect with a broader audience. When we started gaining attention on TikTok, we started recognizing where fans are from because they tell you. Obviously, you look at all the factors of where your fans are from to go play. But we’ve also done a lot of trial and error—some shows have had huge crowds and we’ve had shows where there haven’t been as many people as maybe we had hoped for. So we go, “OK, now we need to work on this market and how do we connect and gain more fans here?” And of course, we are so social media-focused because it introduces people to our music and helps bring people to the shows.
Were there specific albums you gravitated toward growing up?
Kendra: Shania Twain’s Up! album was one we listened to a lot, and we wore out the Carnival Ride album from Carrie [Underwood]. We also love those huge harmony bands. Sugarland was a huge influence, too. Just hearing the fun and sass in Jennifer [Nettles]’s voice, we were like, “That is what we want to capture.”
Kendra, you began singing first. How did the two of you form a duo?
Kendra: We are about two and a half years apart and I’m older. I was in piano lessons by second grade and any local music thing, it was like, “Kendra and Krista, come sing.” But we never thought about starting a band. When I was about 13, my grandma started entering me into talent competitions. Krista started writing songs when she was about 10 and playing guitar. Then I started writing songs and we just thought the only way to get our songs out there was to start a band.
Alex Kline [known for work on Tenille Arts’ “Somebody Like That”] is not only a co-writer on three of the songs on this EP but is a producer on the project as well. Creatively, what did Alex bring to the album creation process?
Krista: We just connected on these cool guitar riffs she would do. We loved the sound of the demos she was turning in and we thought, “We want our music to sound like this, just amplified.”
Kendra: She was already killing it, so we brought her on as a producer and loved having some girl power in there. We are so lucky to work with someone like her, who is so highly respected by her peers around her.
Given the lyrics to “Blonde,” I imagine Dolly Parton would be a coveted collaborator for you both. Who else is on that dream collaborators list?
Kendra: We would love to even meet Dolly. A collaboration would be incredible. There are so many others: Keith Urban, Lady A, Miranda Lambert…
Krista: I think forming a kind of supergroup with like Dan+Shay or Little Big Town or Brothers Osborne would be amazing. So fun, with all the harmonies and guitars.
Kendra: Or just anything with more harmonies.
