Defining The Hawthorne Roots can be challenging. Their original songs combine the soft passion in soul and folk with revved up beats from rock and blues. The Hawthorne Roots is lead by sisters Madeline and Emma Kelly. The band is defined by silvery vocals, tightly woven harmonies, and relentlessly catchy melodies.
There are no rules or limitations when it comes to choosing subjects for the original material. The Hawthorne Roots’ songs are about the triumphs and struggles that involve it all: from day-to-day life to grand adventures; true love and painful heartbreak. The lyrics find their way to each audience member creating connection and conveying empathy. The diverse collection of songs bridge the gap among music lovers of many different genres.
The Hawthorne Roots’ story begins with Emma, born in 1986, and Madeline born in 1989. They entered the 90’s and early 2000’s as young girls living on the East Coast. Their musical lives began at birth with both mother and father heavily involved in the classical music community in Boston. The two sisters explored different musical genres growing up. Madeline began writing songs at the age of 16 leaning on inspiration from folk artists like Joni Mitchell, Bonnie Raitt, and Neil Young. The two sisters forged separate paths for many years, Madeline moving to Bozeman, Montana in 2008. Emma made her way west in 2013. It was not until 2014 they decided to team up for Madeline’s first recording session with Preston White of Boxwood Studios.
From there, the two sisters continued to sing together and paired up with Bozeman bassist Casey George and Bozeman drummer Michael DeJaynes to form The Hawthorne Roots. In 2015 the Kelly sisters teamed up for the first time and wrote the song “Keena” together.
Since then, the band has been joined by numerous Bozeman musicians including Mike Koziel for their 3 track EP recorded at Low Country Studios, Alex Koukov and Bridger Dunnegan from Hollowtops, Haley Ford from The Vibe Quartet, Hemingway and the Organix, and John Shirrell from Doctors of Geography. John Sherrill officially joined The Hawthorne Roots in July of 2015. Casey George left in September of 2015 and Haley Ford took his place, forever changing the female to male ratio and of course – the bass lines.
Today The Hawthorne Roots bring a soulful and energetic performance to the stage, every lyric sung with true passion and genuine elegance. The new repertoire explores different emotions and pushes the boundaries of what is known as The Americana genre of music. They do not write by the rules. The music of The Hawthorne Roots comes from nowhere else, but the heart. Stay tuned as this fresh Montana band continues to spread roots.
