The Pierces

The photogenic sisters Catherine and Allison, who together make up The Pierces, originated in their native Birmingham, Alabama. A musician father and a painter mother provided homeschooling that nurtured artistic interests from childhood, enabling the siblings to master guitar and vocal harmonies with notable speed. Despite both becoming accomplished ballerinas, Catherine and Allison abandoned dance in 1995 to enroll at Auburn University and focus on music. Sony’s interest in their sound led the duo to Nashville, where they recorded the self-titled debut album that surfaced in 2000 as a polished fusion of folk harmonizing and adult alternative textures. Insufficient label support caused the release to vanish quickly. After settling in New York City, the sisters took day jobs, kept writing material, and gave acoustic performances at local clubs and residences. Their persistence secured a deal with Universal Music Group and yielded the 2005 album Light of the Moon. Thirteen Tales of Love and Revenge arrived in 2007, followed by a cameo on the All-American Rejects’ third album, When the World Comes Down, in late 2008. Three years later the Darktones-produced You & I appeared, and in 2014 the duo issued their fifth studio album, Creation, which featured the single “Kings.”