Nashville Noise recently sat down with the country sister trio, Southern Halo.
Southern Halo is Natalia Morris, Christina Morris and Hannah Morris. The three blondes hail from a small town in Mississippi. In the years since their formation, they’ve created what they call CPR — country, pop and rock. We caught up with them about influences, life on radio tour and their future goals.
Nashville Noise: What are your earliest memories of performing together?
Natalia: Some of our earliest memories performing together include playing at juke joints and bars around the Mississippi Delta. We played so often that we had the honorable opportunity to open up for and meet B.B. King on two of his birthday homecomings in Indianola, MS.
When did you decide to approach it as a serious career?
N: We entered in the Texaco Country Showdown back in 2013 and practiced really hard to make it to the finals. Luckily, our practicing had paid off — and we made it! As finalists, we were given the opportunity to play at the Ryman Auditorium and it was the most memorable night of our lives. From that night forward, we knew that we wanted to play music for the rest of our lives.
What were some of your earliest influences? Which female artists are influencing you today?
N: I had a lot of influences growing up — The Eagles, Frank Sinatra, Prince, Carole King, Vince Gill, Dolly Parton and Heart. Female artists who influence me today include Lady Gaga, Meghan Trainor and Taylor Swift.
Christina: Some of my earliest influences include Avril Lavigne, Kelly Clarkson, Bryan Adams and Dave Grohl. Some female artists who influence me today are Maren Morris, Kacey Musgraves and Grace Potter.
Hannah: Michael Jackson, Selena Gomez, Colbie Caillat and Tal Wilkenfeld were some of my earlier influences growing up. A few female artists who influence me today are Reba, Sia and Selena Gomez.
You just released a concept album, ‘Just Like in the Movies.’ Where did the idea for it come from?
N: The idea for our new album came from a dream that I had one night. It was so realistic that I had to write it down. I ended up writing a movie script that included character interaction and dialogue. Weeks later, my sisters decided that it would be super cool to make our next album the soundtrack to the movie script. We have always been obsessed with the concept album idea, so it worked out really well. We hope to have music videos to every song on the album by early next year so that everyone can watch the Just Like in the Movies movie.
You’re busy right now, too. You’re on radio tour and performing. What do you think is the biggest challenge of doing this at your young ages?
N: I’d have to say the biggest challenge of being on the road is time management. It’s very easy to just want to go to sleep when you’re traveling for hours and hours in a car but I manage to remember to crank out my electric guitar and practice scales in the back seat or practice some vocal lessons.
C: It’s so hard leaving my sweet little animals back at our home in Mississippi. I have friends that run by and check on them but I wish I was able to bring them with me!
H: Trying to maintain a good balance between socializing with your friends and living on the road is pretty tricky but we always find a way to make it work.
Lastly, what are your biggest musical goals for the rest of the year?
N: Our biggest musical goals for the rest of the year include pushing our album and singles as far as we can and to grow our fanbase even more with more performances and radio tours.
Stay tuned for more from Southern Halo and be sure to follow them on Facebook. Download a copy of their concept album, Just Like in the Movies, by clicking on the album art below.
