High, Lonesome Harmonies

Now that the hustle and bustle of Christmas has come and gone, relax to the tunes of The Lowest Pair duo Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee at Door County Brewing Company in Baileys Harbor on Saturday, Dec. 27 from 7 – 9pm.

Winter, an Arkansas native who now lives in Washington, has a musical history infused with strings, bluegrass and punk, while Lee, from Minnesota, has enjoyed a history with poetry, banjos and bluegrass. They met in early 2013 and after undeniable vocal chemistry, quickly formed The Lowest Pair and have been touring the country ever since.

“We were sort of talking about it for about six months before that and flying and taking trains back and forth to do shows together to kind of feel things out,” Lee says.

They draw inspiration for their original songs from old-time, “folk tune repertoire” as well as the late John Hartford, an American folk, country and bluegrass composer and musician whose poem, “The Lowest Pair,” inspired the band’s namesake.

“We like to take old-time songs and revitalize them – write new words for them or play with them and make them stranger than they already are,” Lee says. “That’s something that we’re pretty into.”

The band describes itself as a “quirky, old-time roots” duet featuring the high, lonesome harmonies of Winter and Lee.

“We just have really similar aesthetics,” Lee says. “Sort of what we’re going for creatively is really parallel. We’re both just normal enough to be palatable but weird enough to be interesting to the other person. We complement each other really well in that way.”

They released their debut record, 36¢, in 2013. The band will release its second album, Sacred Heart Sessions, on Feb. 24, 2015. For more information, visit TheLowestPair.com.