Larkin Poe sisters playing in Sisters

Larkin Poe — sisters, Megan and Rebecca Lovell — will be playing the Sisters Rhythm and Brews festival this weekend. The Lovell sisters spoke with The Nugget on how they got into music together and what they love most about playing together.

The sisters grew up in a very musical household in Georgia, where they were born and raised. Their parents taught them to play from a young age and appreciate music.

“It really became a passion for us,” said Megan Lovell.

Originally a three-sister band called The Lovell Sisters, they played all around their hometown and state playing originals and Americana-style music.

“It was really cool to have built in band members and we were able to sing three part harmonies, it felt very organic and natural,” she said.

When their older sister stepped away from music and did other things, Megan and Rebecca knew they still wanted to continue music as their career path and passion. They decided to change their name so their band could be their own and they wanted to keep the name in the family. Larkin Poe was the name of their great, great, great grandfather who also happened to be the cousin of Edgar Allan Poe. They decided on a name that was in the family that had a connection to the southern gothic writer.

“We hoped that some of his dark, gothic writings would drip down into our content,” said Rebecca.

The sisters’ sound started out with influences of Alison Krauss, Emmylou Harris and many other artists they grew up listening to. Within the past five years however, they became obsessed with blues music. They were starting to incorporate some of the influence of the bands their father played while they were growing up including most of the legendary 1970s rock bands Lynyrd Skynyrd, Led Zeppelin, and others. They then started studying blues music and came to find out how much the blues influenced that rock sound and listened to Robert Johnson and began using the Delta blues sound in conjunction with their own writings and Americana southern gothic style.

“A lot of the inspiration we use comes from the traditional blues music that came out the area we grew up in being in Georgia, there was a huge blues music influence on the area we grew up in and so it felt like sort of coming home to study and incorporate that blues style,” Rebecca said.

They are able to express through their music the influence of where they grew up and the history that exists there in their style of music.

“We are able to express this homecoming creatively and we can’t help but be influenced by where we grew up with our sound,” Megan said.

Rebecca and Megan share a special connection with each other when they perform and produce music. They both said that their favorite part of playing music together is the connection they are able to share through it.

“Music is the axis on which our world spins,” Megan said.

They are business and creative partners in their musical endeavors.

“Whenever I am on stage I am able to look over at Megan and it is almost like she is my twin and I can feel what she is feeling and that is the most exhilarating feeling being able to share the stage,” said Rebecca.

They agreed that, “We are able to share this connection and sound then with hundreds and thousands of people and that gives us a sense of wholeness.”

The two sisters have had the opportunity to grow and expand their horizons with their blues/rock/Americana sound and have already played 27 countries this year and have the opportunity to spread their music across the world.

The sisters recently came out with a new record in November, entitled “Venom and Faith” which are lyrics from one of their songs.

“The drive for this new record was really about stripping back and peeling back what musicians do especially as singer songwriter blues musicians; we really wanted to take creative control,” Megan said.

This is their second record produced by themselves in Nashville working with a studio as the producers. They wanted to be the ones in charge of what they were presenting to the audience.

“We wanted to present a snapshot of who we are as artists and make the music on the record feel as real and authentic as possible,” she said.

Larkin Poe will be playing as part of the Sisters Rhythm and Blues Festival on Saturday July 27 at 8 p.m. at the Village Green stage. Day passes are still available for purchase. For more information visit https://sistersrhythmandbrews.com.