Harmony that feeds the soul
The Midnight Juliets is a recently formed country and Western trio featuring the talents of Mel, Chrissy and Erica.
Chrissy moved to North Idaho from Portland in 2015 for work. Her musical background was in theater rather than bands, which she says gives her a unique approach full of energy.
In 2018, Chrissy says that a "lady at a bar" overheard her singing along to some live music and asked if she would do a gig at a vintage fair in Hayden. She decided to do the gig, but needed a backing band. She was inspired by the group she had overheard at the bar that included a guitarist and a fiddler, so she decided to run a Craigslist ad looking for the same combination — a guitarist and a fiddler — and was pleasantly surprised when the same musicians she had seen at the bar responded. The guitarist was Rusty Jackson, a prominent country musician in the North Idaho music scene. Chrissy joined Rusty and his fiddler, Erica, and played with them for the next three years.
Chrissy found herself in 2021 performing four to five nights every week while working full time and wanting to finish a doctorate so dropped out of performing for a short while. She kept in touch with Erica about her desire to eventually start an all-girls group, which would become the Midnight Juliets. When they decided to start the group, they needed a guitar player. They met Mel at an open mic at Mad Bomber in Hayden — we will circle back to this after meeting the other two members of the group.
Erica is from Walla Walla and grew up studying and playing classical violin. Before college, she spent a couple of years in Colorado as a ski bum, joined a rock band as a fiddler and ended up occasionally playing with both bluegrass and funk bands. Erica describes herself as not being a "real fiddler," having done all of her formal studies in classical music, but has been able to learn enough playing by ear to develop her own style.
Erica returned to Walla Walla for an engineering degree and work eventually brought her to North Idaho, where she found a lot of country musicians looking for a fiddler. One of those musicians was Jackson and his Spokane River Band, which Erica played with for several years. She met Chrissy in the Spokane River Band and began looking for outlets to explore more folk, Americana and music by lesser-known artists. Chrissy’s desire to start an all-girl band after taking time off for her doctorate was a perfect fit.
Mel grew up in western Washington and says she has been singing her whole life. Junior high choir introduced her to performance, and a "cute boy" her junior year in high school got her interested in country music. She was drawn to '90s stars like the Judds, Reba McEntire and Garth Brooks, who included rock music elements but stuck with "country" themes in their lyrics such as family and leading a simple life.
Mel headed to college in Michigan on a music performance scholarship where an opera instructor encouraged her to switch from soprano to alto, exploring the lower end of her range. This now drives all of Mel’s singing style.
Returning to Washington, she found herself surrounded by rock musicians who would not do country music so she joined Northwest Chill, a classic rock and blues band she sang with for nine years before eventually moving to North Idaho.
Mel and Chrissy both say they were not looking to be in a harmony duo, but after singing with each other they both realized that although their voices and styles are quite different, something magical happens when they sing together. Mel describes Chrissy’s voice as having a beautiful and clear high range and says that singing alto underneath Chrissy’s melodies “feeds my soul.” Listening to the three of them perform together, it is easy to hear why she says this — both Mel and Chrissy are fabulous solo vocalists but something truly special does happen when they begin to sing together.
The group describes their sound as "amazing harmonies applied both to upbeat country and soulful ballads." Country and Western is the base of their sound with a mix of well-known country songs and songs by lesser-known artists. Group favorites include covers of "Little White Church," "White Liar" and "Traveling Soldier." Erica and Mel both say they fight back tears each time they do the last song. Erica’s personal favorite is the group’s cover of "Blue," made famous by LeAnn Rimes, as she gets to hear incredible vocals and she has been able to create her own fiddle part combining elements of jazz, blues and swing. Mel says that their harmonies feed her soul — and audiences around North Idaho are sharing the same experience!
The Midnight Juliets can be heard this fall at:
• Sept. 17: D-Mac's at the Lake, Hauser
• Sept. 24: Kootenai Farmers' Market, Hayden
• Nov. 18 and Dec. 16: The Snake Pit, Kingston
• • •
Tom Richards is a music lover, the lead singer in local blues band Dr. Phil & the Enablers and the owner of The Snake Pit.
