NASHVILLE, Tennessee – When I first heard The Hobbs Sisters, I stopped dead in my tracks. I am all about family harmonies, but these two were next level. I guess that’s what happens when you have identical twins who are naturally gifted singers.
Lauren and Hannah Hobbs were encouraged to sing as young children by their grandfather, Pappaw John. He played the guitar and banjo by ear and would sing along with them.
Eventually, the pair would run back to his room and say, “Hey Pappaw, come listen to what we’ve been working on and listen to the songs we are learning in school.”
Their grandfather passed when they were just nine, but they had “a lot of early years making music with him.”
Growing up, the sisters listened to music from the late 90s and early 2000s like Martina McBride, Shania Twain, Faith Hill, Reba McEntire, and Rascal Flatts.
The twins, along with a younger sister, continued singing together in church.
Hannah Hobbs said, “The church choir was one of our first experiences singing and making music.”
They continued to sing at their church in Pittsburg throughout high school and when they went away to college at Wake Forest in North Carolina, they were part of an acapella group called Minor Variations.
Lauren Hobbs clarified, “It was a female Christian acapella group whose purpose was to perform in different churches throughout the Winston-Salem area. We spent a lot of Sundays worshipping with congregations and sharing our music. It was a whole lot of fun.”
“We’ve always had music somehow circulating in our lives,” confirmed Hannah Hobbs.
Both sisters graduated with degrees in communications but with different minors.
The sisters only wanted to be country music performers, so I wondered how the degree has helped their careers.
Hannah Hobbs said, “No matter what we did in college, we always came back to music. The communications degree was helpful as we learned about marketing, persuasive communications, and putting products out, and how that impacts what you are doing and selling. Especially now with social media being a huge part of the success story.”
The 29-year-olds graduated college in 2014 and initially moved back to Pittsburg where they got a band together and entertained regularly throughout the region at fairs, festivals, and casinos.
“We kind of cut our teeth on the performing circuit at that time,” Lauren Hobbs explained.
Also during that time, they would travel to Nashville to write songs and play writers’ rounds about every 4 to 6 weeks. The trips became more frequent until it was more than they could manage.
“We were putting way too many miles on our car and spending way too much on hotel rooms,” Hannah Hobbs recalled.
It was a sign that they needed to move to Nashville. They moved at the end of 2017.
In 2018, they put out an EP called If It Wasn’t Love. It had five songs that they co-wrote with some of their Nashville friends. After moving to Nashville full time, they continued to write and perform while gearing up to release their first full album, Turn It Up in July of 2021.
They have co-written every song on their new record with help from some of their favorite co-writers. Each song is based on real-life experiences and is the product of being quarantined for the last year and a half.
Hannah Hobbs said, “We both keep a list of titles and ideas and things we want to write about. Certain songs may be more personal to Lauren or to me depending on who’s in a relationship or whose heart is broken at the time.”
Some themes are more universal like the song “Grown Up Things” which is about chasing your dreams and finding the balance between where you are and where you are supposed to be.
“Hopefully others can relate to that, too,” expressed Lauren Hobbs.
The single, “Turn It Up” was released on June 25 and is a carefree, energetic song that is perfect for opening their shows.
“It’s so much fun to enjoy the moment and let people have a great song to jam to.”
Lyrically, the song “Summer on a Slow Burn” is reminiscent of a Taylor Swift tune, but with their soaring vocals and matchless harmonies, the nostalgic song rises to a whole other level.
Other singles from their debut album Turn It Up, such as “Starting Fires, “What If It Was,” along with the title track, were featured in The Boot, Sounds Like Nashville, and American Songwriter praising their vocal harmonies.
Interestingly, the sisters take turns singing lead. They seamlessly switch back and forth from harmony to lead, creating a vocalese that is unmatched by even the most talented artists.
This duo is no stranger to the country music scene, previously opening up for popular artists such as Lady A and Brett Eldredge.
From their harmony-driven original songs to their unique interpretations of country covers, The Hobbs Sisters are making a name for themselves as singers, songwriters, and entertainers.
When deciding a name for their duo, Lauren Hobbs said their whole life they have been called The Hobbs Sisters, so it felt natural, and it was the name they went with.
Even though they have a younger sister, Hannah Hobbs and Lauren Hobbs grew up side by side with the “same dream and passion.” Today, The Hobbs Sisters are a modern country duo who bring a combination of big voices, twin sister harmonies, and high-energy performances to the stage.
Even though they are accomplished songwriters, it doesn’t matter what song they are singing. When you hear The Hobbs Sisters singing together, you know you listening to something special.
You can follow The Hobbs Sisters on their website, Spotify, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Youtube. To see them in person, check their touring schedule.
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Bethany Bowman is a freelance entertainment writer. You can follow her blog, Instagram, and Twitter.
