What inspired you guys to pursue music?
Kelli: I grew up watching my mom play music with my aunts in a band called Mulberry Lane, and they had a record deal and toured all over the US. I always wanted to be just like her, and I have clear memories of watching my mom and aunts sing from the wings. When I was a little kid, I took dance from JoJo’s mom’s studio in Omaha (a little foreshadowing here) and I also loved acting and singing in community theater productions. It was my dream to someday be successful in music.
What is it like being in a duo with your mom/daughter?
Kelli: My mom and I have a really great relationship. We really trust each other musically and I know that she always has my back. We spend a lot of time together on show days, so we both enjoy time apart from each other on our days of to do our own thing.
Jaymie: I think being in a mother daughter duo is a great kind of girl power – two generations sharing the same dream from different perspectives, relying on each other and having fun. There are days when we laugh so hard together, and times when we look at each other and know exactly what the other one is thinking.
How would you describe your musical style as a duo?
Kelli: We make country-pop music that’s upbeat and positive. We hope people listening to our music feel just a little bit better about life after listening to this EP.
Jaymie: Words that come to mind when describing our duo include: harmony-driven, honest, fun, colorful, inclusive, positive
What artists do you guys look up to right now?
Kelli: I’m obsessed with the new Taylor Swift album. But I also love Kacey Musgraves and Maren Morris.
Jaymie: Lover by Taylor Swift, but also The Highwomen, Kelsea Ballerini, and always, The Judds.
You guys are gearing up for the release of your new EP NOBODY KNOWS ME BETTER!! How excited are you guys to get this project out into the world?
Kelli: SOOOO EXCITED!!!!!! We’ve been working on this EP for a while now and we can’t wait for you all to hear it!!
Jaymie: It’s like Christmas morning when a new EP comes out! We hope everyone really likes all the new songs!! This collection of songs is our favorite of anything we’ve release so far, every song has a story and means a lot to us.
What do you hope your supporters will think of the new music?
Jaymie: It’s interesting that we started writing for this EP project after we got the opening slot on the JoJo Siwa tour, knowing we’d be singing these songs to a lot of young girls and their moms. With that audience in mind, it really shaped what we wanted to say. So I think it has an underlying theme of things that mothers and daughters share, lessons learned and handed down from generation to generation, love and togetherness, confidence and strength.
Kelli: I really hope that our fans love this project. A lot of our fans have been asking about our song “My Mother’s Daughter” because we play it on stage every night. So, I can’t wait for them to hear the studio version!
Are there any other projects in the works you can tell us about?
Kelli: We’re currently working on a top secret music video for one of the songs on the EP 🙂
You guys are currently opening all 89 dates on the Nickelodeon’s JoJo Siwa’s D.R.E.A.M. Tour!! How’s tour been so far?
Kelli: Tour has been AMAZING!!! We’ve had a blast every night. JoJo’s audiences are insanely excited and we feel so lucky to get to open her shows. I never want it to end!
Jaymie: JoJo’s D.R.E.A.M. Tour has been a dream for us. Every night JoJo has sold out crowds from 4,000 people to 14,000 people. Playing our music in front of that many people, especially young girls, is such a joy, and we hope to inspire them to be strong girls and go for their dreams. We have made such great friends on this tour, as we’ve spent months with JoJo, her mom Jess, her dancers and the crew. We travel on a tour bus on crew bus 4, and the guys on our bus have really become our family. Kelli often plays Monopoly on days off with JoJo and her dancers, or sight seeing with her crew buddies.
What song are you most excited to perform on tour?
Jaymie: A couple songs we really enjoy playing on stage every night is Beautiful Girl, which is our new single, and we love the message that every girl is beautiful just the way she it. Kelli wrote that song in Nashville with a couple super talented co-writers. Another song I love to play is My Mother’s Daughter that Kelli wrote for me with a co-writer in Nashville as a Mother’s Day present. During that song we announce that we are a mother daughter duo, and it’s a special moment that we share with so many other mothers and daughters in the audience.
What’s your favorite part of being on tour?
Kelli: My favorite part is probably performing every night!! But besides that, I love hanging out with the crew and dancers and JoJo! We have a blast and always plan fun activities to do on off days.
Why do you think social media is so important for singers today?
Kelli: I think social media is super important to build personal connections with fans, but also to show who you are as a person behind the music. We love doing instagram Q&A’s and livestreams to get to know our fans and let our fans get to know us better.
Jaymie: It’s another layer of communication and helps your fans to understand why you are writing and performing your music. Also, fans give so much back to us, and that means the world to us. We are super inspired by our fans, and especially when they message us stories of how our songs have made a difference to their lives, that they are like us because they are good friends with their moms, that they liked what we wore on stage, just anything and everything means so much to us and keeps us going strong.
What social media platform do you use most to stay connected to your fans?
Kelli: We probably use Instagram the most but we are also active on Twitter and Facebook.
How do you want your relationship to be with your fans?
Kelli: Honestly, our fans feel like our friends. It has been amazing to connect with all of these awesome people at our shows and keep in touch on social media. We love and appreciate all of the support that our fans give us.
What’s an average day like for you guys?
Kelli: Right now, we usually wake up on our tour bus and go into the venue and find our dressing room. Then we work on interviews or any projects we have going until our soundcheck around 3. After soundcheck, we focus on getting ready for the show and then we play at 7! After the show we get back on our bus and eat the bus food! Which is usually a local special or some really good fast food.
Jaymie: In the afternoons we work on writing new songs too!
Do you have any last things you want to tell your supporters?
Kelli: Make sure you check out our weekly vlogs and our brand new music video for “Beautiful Girl” on Youtube. Thank you so much Teen Music Insider for having us! 🙂
Jaymie: We can’t wait to hear what you think of the full EP too! Make sure to let us know on any of our socials.
