The Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival is next weekend, and while I won’t be in Franklin, I have been busy helping promote some of the artists performing. I am still waiting on a few, but I did get the chance to sit down with Tigirlily Gold, a sister duo from North Dakota. They have been playing music together since they could walk, and officially formed their band in high school. In addition to sharing the stage with Zach Bryan next weekend, they just released a new EP titled Blonde out now. It was time to dive in and learn more about this up and coming talent. Oh, their single “Shoot Tequila” is spectacular. Pour yourself a shot and let’s dive in. It is my absolute pleasure to introduce you to Tigirlily Gold. Cheers!
Your single “Shoot Tequila” is closing in on 13 million Spotify streams. That is amazing! Let’s start there… Tell me more about that song, the lyrics, and what tequila you were drinking when writing this song.
Kendra: I had brought the title “Shoot Tequila” up in our first writing session with Kevin Griffin (aka lead singer of the band Better Than Ezra), David Mescon, and of course, Krista. We had told Kevin how much we loved the song “Stuck Like Glue” by Sugarland, which he had written, and he then grabbed this cigar/guitar box that Kristian Bush had gifted him after that song went #1. Kevin started riffing on that guitar right after I brought the tequila idea up, and the rest is history. Krista threw out the lines like “shake shake Shakira hips” and “mama didn’t raise no quitter” which are some of my favorite lines of the whole song, and those lyrics have since had a huge reaction all over social media. This song is our broadway, honky tonk anthem and it’s been so fun to see people connect with it from all over the world! We’ve been having our fair share of margs and the occasional tequila shot with this song!
Where did the name Tigirlily Gold come from?
Krista: The name came from the tiger lily flower that grew in our parents’ backyard back in Western North Dakota. We changed the spelling to TiGIRLily for some girl power! We added on “gold” recently, and the addition also is an ode to home – the ND sunrises and sunsets, the wheat fields, and maybe even the hair color.
Tell me about your work with Monument Records. And how does an artist first connect with a label?
We’ve been signed with Monument Records for about two and a half years now! We connected with Katie McCartney over at Monument Records several years before signing our deal, and they were not signing too many new artists at that time. When they were wanting to sign some new artists again, several years later, we received a call from Katie saying they wanted to meet again, and that Shane McAnally really wanted to jump on as a producer. Obviously, we are huge fans of Shane’s work, so that was a dream come true.
Are you out there looking for representation or do they come to you after hearing your music?
Both. We have our teams locked in now, but it takes years to find the right people! It never hurts to meet with people around town in Nashville and connect with more industry folks to see if they would be a good fit to your team, but at the end of the day, the people on your team have to believe in you as an artist and have to believe in the songs for it to work.
The Pilgrimage Music & Cultural Festival is coming up soon. This event is going to be amazing! Are you excited to perform?
We are so excited to play Pilgrimage for the 2nd time!! It truly is the best celebration of all kinds of music, and we can’t wait to bring some girl-group energy to Franklin, Tennessee!
And are there any artists you’re excited to see in Franklin?
Patrick Droney plays right after us, and we will be fangirling. We are excited for Ashley McBryde as we’ve got to open up for her a couple of times, and we love her music! We have not seen a Zach Bryan show yet, so we are super eager to see his performance as well!
How did you get connected with that festival and do you have anything fun planned for your show?
We wrote our single “Shoot Tequila” and many other songs with the co-founder of Pilgrimage and lead singer of Better Than Ezra, Kevin Griffin. He introduced us to the festival, and told us we had to play Pilgrimage! As far as surprises go, we may “shoot” for a special guest that day!
Where do you find inspiration for new music? And what artists are you listening to when not working on a new single?
Krista: Even though Kendra and I are sisters, we currently are going through very different stages in life. That alone gives us a lot to write about. We also are inspired by phrases or stories we hear from our family, friends, and fans. We listen to just about everything from Kacey Musgraves, to Sabrina Carpenter, to Noah Kahan, to the 1975, to Post Malone, to Maisie Peters.
You are originally from North Dakota. Do you get back to the Peace Garden State much?
We still play a lot of shows back in our home state, and we love going back to play any chance we get! Those are the people who have supported us from day one.
You got to meet Randy Travis.That is awesome! What was that experience like? And is he as cool as I think he is?!
Krista: You don’t get many chances to meet the people who have truly shaped country music into what it is today. I started tearing up when I thanked him for his contribution to country music. I have so much respect for him. He is the COOLEST!
There are a lot of great music venues out there. Where are some of your favorite places to play? And where is your favorite place to see a show? Nashville is ripe with iconic venues!
Kendra: When we are in town, we love playing the Backstage Nashville show at 3rd and Lindsley! It’s an amazing show showcasing some of Nashville’s most brilliant hit songwriters! If we’re heading downtown, we love the Ryman Auditorium, Bridgestone Arena, and we may hit Dierks Bentley’s Whiskey Row for old time’s sake (we played there for a couple years)! We recently got to make our Grand Ole Opry debut, so that has now become one of our favorite places to play, and we feel so honored every time we get to step onto that stage!
Do you ever sing cover songs, or are you only performing original music? And if you are doing covers, what songs and artists do you like to cover?
We know 4 hours of cover songs from playing 3 years down on Broadway in Nashville, so we keep a couple of our favorites in the set. We change the covers up quite a bit, but some of our go-tos are “Bleeding Love” by Leona Lewis, “Hold On” by Wilson Phillips, and “Sweet Child O’ Mine” by Guns N’ Roses.
Fans can subscribe to your newsletter. What sort of information are you sending out and how often are you emailing folks?
We are usually sending updates on what’s happening, new tour dates, sneak peeks of new music, or free merch giveaways! We also have a texting number we use a lot!
Have you ever made a mistake while on stage? If you do, how do you self-correct and keep performing?
Of course. We have forgotten words or missed a note, but I think being very open with the audience and just kind of laughing it off and moving on is the best way to go about it. I think the more real you can be with your fans, the better!
You are crushing it on Instagram. It just looks like you’re having the time of your life out there. Not really a question… Just keep it up!
Thank you! We try to have fun with social media as much as we can and use it as a way to connect with our fans on a daily basis! It’s basically an in-real-time video vlog!
2021 was a big year for you ladies… You released your debut single, your self-titled, debut EP, and hit the road with artists Walker Hayes and Ashley McBryde. How have you kept that momentum going and what does the rest of 2023 look like?
We always keep the mindset of independent artists, and that means, the fans are first, and we have to really drive the ship of our career. There is not a day that goes by where we are not thinking of how we can better ourselves in our career to get to where we want to be. I think that’s the only way you can keep momentum going! Focus on what you can control and the fans. Thankfully this year, we’ve still been able to grow and experience so many firsts such as having our first song at country radio, making our Grand Ole Opry debut, playing the Academy of Country Music Awards, and so much more.
You are both blonde. Makes sense you’d release an EP titled Blonde. Too funny! Tell me more about that EP and the songs you put on this release.
We like to say blonde is a state of mind, more than the hair color itself. It’s about channeling that inner confidence, sassiness, and boldness while still being able to poke fun at yourself when life doesn’t go the way you planned. We want people to feel happy, empowered, and heard after listening to these four songs.
What’s next for Tigirlily Gold? Hoping for a tour that brings you to Southern California!
We have a few more surprises for 2023 that we can’t share quite yet, one involving a little Christmas gift maybe?! Into 2024, we will continue to tour, release more music, and see how far this amazing journey can take us! We need to get to Southern California for sure!!
Thank you for doing this… That was fun! In all of the interviews I do I always give the artist the last word. Go.
I don’t know if we mentioned this, but we are sisters! Experiencing this journey with a built-in best friend is basically the coolest thing ever!!
Thank you for taking the time to talk with us!!
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