Fritsl and Teni and Friends

Chattanooga natives, Fritsl and Teni Butler, will be joined by Jim Palmour, Bob Burns, and others in a Chattanooga Reunion concert, Saturday, January 3rd at 8pm at Barking Legs Theater. Ethen Martin of Barefoot Productions will open the show.

The Butler Girls grew up in and around a community of Chattanooga musicians who helped nurture their early love for music. They learned to harmonize on long car rides, where they were exposed to the writing of Nanci Griffith, Carol King, Beth Woods, John Prine and many other greats. Time and space separated their development as singer-songwriters, and they enjoy coming home to collaborate with each other and with friends and mentors. The resulting flavor is an eclectic mix of original work, influenced by the earliest writing they encountered, as well as by contemporary pop music. Their Americana-take on select covers is unexpected and well-received by a wide demographic.

Both sisters make the rounds at local writers’ nights, as well as in Nashville where Fritsl lives, and Fayetteville, Arkansas, where Teni attends college. Since 2012, they’ve mainly performed separately; Teni as a solo act and Fritsl will her band in the Sewanee area. Their last collaborative performance was at The Camp House in Chattanooga last June.

Fritsl’s writing often provides a narrative, constructed around complex characters with shared experiences and she’s been called a “happier Gillian Welch.” “My absolute favorite thing about music is getting to share it with my family--my sister and I are rarely together more than twenty or thirty minutes before we break out the guitars and start swapping tunes and riffs.”

Of her sister, Fritsl says, “Teni has always been sophisticated--the stories she tells in her songs have always revealed her maturity. I am, time and time again, blown away by her ability to weave common experiences into songs that captivate people in every age range.

The girls are thrilled to share the stage again with Jim Palmour and Bob Burns who have accompanied them many times over the past two years. They are also excited to welcome local drummer, Burnard Tate, into the fold.