Acclaimed country duo The Young Fables make their Hawaii debut in Kihei
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Making their Hawaii debut at the ProArts Playhouse on May 23, The Young Fables duo of Laurel Wright and Wesley Lunsford can count some famous fans like Shania Twain, Keith Urban, Travis Tritt and Sheryl Crow.
After hearing them perform on the USA Network's "Real Country" show, Twain declared, "What you guys are, are just pure soul. I fell in love with these guys as a genuine, authentic talent and sound." Tritt announced, "You took me back to people like Conway (Twitty) and Loretta (Lynn), George Jones and Tammy Wynette."
Crow was also impressed, tweeting, "Just heard The Young Fables in the Nashville Airport. Laurel's as good as any country singer out there."
"That was crazy," Wright said about meeting Crow. "I didn't even know who she was when she came up to me in the airport. It just didn't register who she was and I'm a big Sheryl Crow fan. We used to play in the airport three days a week and you see a lot of people coming through. She came up to me and asked me my name and said she loved my voice, and then she did that tweet."
Having vacationed in Kihei last year, this hot duo decided to return for more R&R and play a gig. "We loved it so much, we wanted to see if we could try to play somewhere," she said.
With profiles on them in People magazine and Rolling Stones, The Young Fables have been described as one of the most underrated artists within the country/Americana/folk genre. "The Young Fables create music with classic storytelling weaved into traditional country roots music with pop sensibilities," noted Celeb Country Secrets. "It's evident that they are influenced by some of their favorite artists, including Patsy Cline, Bonnie Raitt, Glen Campbell and Chet Atkins."
Their latest album, "Short Stories" is packed with appealing, catchy original songs, with Round Magazine praising "the psychedelic country" of "Greener" and the "upbeat, anthemic power ballad" "Reasons to Cry."
In March, they released the upbeat "The Dreamless Travelled" with Bevan that sounds like it could easily fit a Fleetwood Mac album. "We're writers for other people as well and we collaborate all the time," said Lunsford. "It's one of the first ones I produced."
Before forming the Fables with Lunsford, Wright competed for "American Idol." "I made the top 48 and got cut right before the live rounds," she said. "I was in Hollywood, and it was the time I really realized that I wanted to not be a solo artist, but be in a duo with Wes. From the first moment I heard Wes play, I've never wanted another guitarist."
Wright grew up loving female country artists like "Loretta Lynn and Patsy Cline and the Chicks and Shania Twain, of course. And Wes has a bit of a different background."
"We both grew up in East Tennessee, and I never listened to country as a kid," Lunsford recalls. "I listened to Pink Floyd and rock and then I heard Wes Montgomery and George Benson and fell in love with playing jazz. And then a friend sent me a video of Glen Campbell singing and playing 'Galveston' live. He takes this guitar solo at the end and it just blew my mind. I was like, I got to figure out country music, and so I dug deep."
In concert they feature their own songs and some covers. "We are kind of all over the place with our covers," said Lunsford. "We love anything from classic country to Prince ('Purple Rain'), and we'll even do some jazz standards."
The Young Fables will perform at the ProArts Playhouse at 7:30 p.m. May 23. Tickets range from $20 to $35 at ProArtsMaui.org.