Powell River’s famous musical twins, Carli and Julie Kennedy cannot believe how fast 2018 has gone.
“It’s just blown by with so many exciting things happening,” said Julie, the fiddle-playing half of country music duo Twin Kennedy.
The sisters now split their time between Victoria and Nashville, Tennessee, where they recently bought a house. Their schedule has been packed with touring and recording, and several major milestones.
“We signed on with a new agency in Nashville last year,” said Carli, who predominantly plays guitar. “And through them, and also the connections we’ve been building in the [United States], we’ve been touring a lot and played our biggest shows yet.”
Accolades for the group included a nomination for Julie as Fiddle Player of the Year at the BC Country Music Awards, and the sisters were named Distinguished Alumni by the University of Victoria, where they received degrees in classical music performance.
“That was one of the biggest honours of our career to date,” said Carli. “It was the School of Music’s 50th anniversary as well, and we did a show to a beyond capacity audience.”
The two had the chance to share their insights and experience in the music industry with classes in the music faculty at UVIC.
“It took us full circle back to our roots,” said Julie.
The twins got their start in music programs in School District 47 and Powell River Academy of Music, and eventually taught students of their own.
“We started out teaching music in our first years of high school,” said Julie. “We would teach out of Kelly Creek Community School, which was our elementary school.”
Another achievement for the group was performing at Nashville’s famous Bluebird Cafe. The 90-seat venue has gained worldwide recognition as a songwriter’s performance space with everyone from up-and coming-artists to Nashville legends having performed in the round.
“That was definitely a bucket list item for us,” said Carli. “Our dad came down and we got to play a bunch of our own original songs. It’s a venue that’s beloved here in Nashville, so to get to play and soak up all the magic of the people who have played there was so cool.”
Now the sisters are in the studio recording new music to come out next year, when they will also be touring. Powell River is definitely on their list of stops, they said.
“With all the new places we go and see, we feel so lucky to have grown up in Powell River and have that amazing music community as our start,” said Carli. “It’s a very special place.”
