Country-rock veterans coming to Wall Street Theater
NORWALK — Sister Hazel’s concert at the Wall Street Theater next week not only kicks off a series of national headlining acts coming to the Norwalk theater, it contributes to the country-rock band’s own musical legacy.
Sister Hazel formed in Gainesville, Fla., 25 years ago, and it will be the same five original musicians — Jett Beres on bass and vocals, Mark Trojanowski on drums, Ryan Newell on lead guitar and vocals, Andrew Copeland on rhythm guitar and vocals, and Ken Block on lead vocals and guitar — taking the stage of the Wall Street Theater on Thursday, Sept. 27. A sixth member, Dave LaGrande, who plays sax and keyboards, joined about six years ago.
“At this point, our band is truly family, good times and bad. We all feel like we still have something to say, and people are still connecting with our music,” said Andrew Copeland, in explaining the dynamics of Sister Hazel’s longevity. “Getting to this point was about settling into our roles in this band, doing what each of us does best, picking our battles, and understanding the bigger picture has always been about the sum of the parts not just the parts.”
That bigger picture includes a musical resilience which earned the band critical acclaim and success in several musical genres, including indie-rock, and its 1997 hit “All for You” topped the adult alternative charts. The one constant throughout, however, has been superlative songwriting and musicianship. So it’s not surprising that Sister Hazel is currently experiencing success in the country music field, with its emphasis on strong songwriting, and they recently were invited to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville, Tennessee.
“I’ve always felt like our records were all over the place,” said Copeland, who writes many of the songs. “We’ve never really fit into one mold. I’m super thankful that the country music market recognizes us and welcomes us. We always have and continue to try and be true to the songs.
“We write from the heart and I think one of the things that draws people to our music is the honesty,” he added. “If the song calls for a little more rock, so be it. If it calls for a straight ballad feel, we’ll do it. If it needs a little country brushed over it, we feel totally comfortable doing it.”
Sister Hazel’s albums have regularly rode best-selling music charts, with “Lighter In The Dark” climbing to No. 4 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums. Their recent effort, “Water,” released in February, hit No. 9 on that same Billboard chart and No. 2 on Billboard’s Independent Albums list. “Water” is the first in a series of four EPs that make up a compilation set called “Elements.” The band’s second EP in the series, “Wind,” is a six-track followup released earlier this month.
“I love the way we’ve rolled this thing out,” said Copeland, about the “Elements” project. “We’ve never put music out this fast, and it’s been awesome. I can tell you that the idea was really nurtured by our bassist, Jett Beres. Dude comes up with some creative ways for this band to continue to connect.”
Copeland shares many of the writing credits on the new disc, too, and he explained his process.
“I’ve written songs from a ton of different angles. It can start with a lyric, a melody, an idea or even a feeling,” he said. “I actually love the writing process. I’ve never really written a song thinking specifically about our band arrangement and how we would play it. I write the songs and then bring them in understanding that our band is going to ‘Hazel-fy’ them. As soon as we get behind our instruments and play the song, it becomes a Hazel song. Everyone writes, and it’s made us such a better band.”
Copeland feels happy about where the band is — with goals revolving around that next hit song.
“We’ve been around for a quarter of a century, and people are still connecting with our music, old and new,” he said. “I think we would love to have a strong radio showing with a newer song, but honestly, we’re just super thankful for the careers that we’ve been blessed with.”
As far as his own goals, they’re a little more personal: “I’d like to write a hit, lose some weight, make my family proud, and please the Good Lord — not necessarily in that order, of course,” he said.
Elizabeth and the Catapult opens the Thursday night show at 8 p.m. The Wall Street Theater is located at 71 Wall St., in Norwalk. Visit wallstreettheater.com.