Kat Harlton
Comprised of Brandi Sidoryk (vocals, bass), Katie Rox (vocals, banjo, acoustic guitar), Krista Wodelet (vocals, drums), and Tara McLeod (electric guitar), Nice Horse is the result of four bold women joining forces to create all-girl powerhouse band.
The Alberta group recently released their new single “Hot Mess”, which Tara describes as a culmination of their collective influences, “It’s definitely a different sound, but I would say it’s still a country song. We definitely took it in a heavy direction, that’s just what the song called for you know? It’s because we all gravitated towards what we were listening too. We kept diving into the rock charts, there were just things that were happening on there that we felt suited that song in particular. I think we created something really unique and really sexy.”
As we discuss songwriting, Brandi makes it clear these ladies bare their hearts on their sleeves, “It’s great because everyone in this band is a songwriter, and we’re so lucky to be in that situation and I feel like we write so many songs, and it’s really been a way to help us find the songs that are the best for us, and feel the most genuine to us, to write about the things that mean the most to us.”
Winners of the CMT Fresh Face Feature Artist and making it into the top 3 finalists for Alberta’s prestigious project WILD, the ladies of Nice Horse have shown no hints of slowing down, and Krista shares they are driven to be at the top of their game, “We are unique in that we are really the only self contained female country band when we’re out and about. We certainly don’t encounter them. This is it, this is the band, we play all the instruments, we record everything ourselves, we do it all. Of course we all have strong women that we look to but we also just have strong musicians that we look too.”
The band has performed at such big-time country music festivals as Boots and Hearts, Big Valley Jamboree and Dauphin’s CountryFest, as well as showcasing during other high-profile events such as Roger’s Hometown Hockey, Nashville’s AmericanaFest, JUNO Fest, and during the Canadian Country Music Association’s Country Music Week, and have opened for legendary artists such as Tom Cochrane and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. As we discuss highlights, I ask if being an all female country band is challenging, and Katie shares that it’s had its ups and downs, but that they have a great team behind them, and their passion keeps them going. “We’re proud of being a band of all women, but we want to just be a great band. There are a lot of strong female influences out there, and they’ve influenced us a ton. We lose some, and we win some because of our gender. It’s definitely a plus and a minus, we’ve tried to just focus on the pluses.”
For more on Nice Horse visit: http://www.nicehorsemusic.com