Winfield's Locket

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Fast

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Released: May 4, 2010

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Fast
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No Place To Hide
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Worth The Drive
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In The Sweet By & By - Kenny Rogers & WL
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Taken Care Of (Acoustic)
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Total Plays: 8,777 / Plays Today: 2See All Featured ►

CHECK OUT WINFIELD'S LOCKET IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF
CMA CLOSE UP MAGAZINE!
VOL. 7, 2011 - "DEBUT SPOTLIGHT" SECTION (PG. 27)

Click on the photo below for a closer view:

WINFIELD'S LOCKET FEATURED ON "IN THE SWEET BY AND BY"
FROM KENNY ROGERS' NEW GOSPEL ALBUM, THE LOVE OF GOD:

Shows & Events

4 upcoming shows/events

Feb 2

The Commodore

Nashville, TN
Feb 3

Richard's Cafe

Whites Creek, TN
Feb 7

The Listening Room

Nashville, Tennessee
Feb 23

The Bluebird Cafe

Nashville, TN

Latest Blog Entries

Dec 7, 2011 4:28 PM Kenny Rogers and Winfield's Locket Featured in Christian Scalise's Country Stars Central Review
Apr 9, 2011 2:24 AM The Advocate (Baton Rouge, LA) - "Gospel CD features La. natives"
Mar 9, 2011 6:46 PM March 7, 2011 - WINFIELD'S LOCKET Featured On KENNY ROGERS' New Album, The Love of God.
Feb 15, 2011 9:16 PM Winfield's Locket Featured on KENNY ROGERS' new Gospel CD, The Love Of God, on March 7th
Jan 12, 2011 4:26 PM WL mention in "Country Time" article by Matt Bjorke, founder of Roughstock.com

Winfield’s Locket is proving that the art of creating timeless music definitely isn’t a thing of the past. With an unforgettable vintage-yet-fresh, roots-meets-soul sound that effortlessly bridges the best elements of the music from years gone by with a contemporary twist, the talented sisters from Denham Springs, Louisiana, are making a lasting impression.

Unmistakable sibling harmonies, emotive vocal performances, pristine musicianship and remarkable songs that stretch conventional boundaries and expectations are just a few things Winfield’s Locket is quickly becoming known for with music lovers, critics, fellow artists & songwriters and industry insiders alike. There is no doubt they have something special.

Leslie and Brooke Martin are sisters and close friends who grew up in a musical family. Over the years, they have grown to know each other’s musical tendencies well and have become magical musical collaborators – versatile composers, vocalists, musicians and producers – who complement each other so well there is no doubt they were meant to create music together. When their talents are combined, the result is nothing short of extraordinary. 

Born and raised in Louisiana less than 100 miles from the world-renowned French Quarter in New Orleans, the two quickly developed a love for music singing Gospel songs and hymns in church, all the while absorbing the diverse music the southern swampland has to offer. The result is music that is watermarked with a truly unique combination of genre-blurring elements – undercurrents of Gospel, Rock, and Pop intricately interwoven through their own eclectic brand of Country Soul.  

Winfield's Locket emerged from the studio with a special collection of songs in 2010 that comprise their self-titled debut CD. Produced by highly-regarded Grammy-nominated multi-instrumentalist/producer Ilya Toshinskiy (formerly of Bering Strait), Winfield's Locket and Jason Henke, Winfield's Locket features 12 songs co-written by the talented duo. From the jangling, radio-ready hooks of "Fast," to the driving electri-banjofied "Save Yourself" and the ambitious mandolin and bazouki-flavored composition, "No Place To Hide," the album showcases Winfield's Locket's ability to create meaningful and memorable music. Winfield's Locket, released independently on This Side Up Records, has generated glowing reviews, including a luminous endorsement from Music Row’s Robert K. Oermann, who noted in a review: “Get it [their CD]…for a DisCovery Award, you can’t do much better than Winfield’s Locket...their vocals are fierce and fine.”

Matt Bjorke, founder of Roughstock, wrote about Winfield’s Locket in a piece for 101 Distribution: “If an artist has crafted something that’s on par (or better than) what major labels would be putting out themselves, why not pick up a self-financed and released recording? There are plenty of examples of artists with recording that are mainstream-ready or ‘critical’ favorites with recordings that present the artists as they truly want to be presented on record…The same thing can be said for a duo called Winfield’s Locket. They have produced an album with their management company (Kenny Rogers’ Dreamcatcher Entertainment) and it is another fine example of something that could add to country’s mainstream.”

The duo was recently featured in CMA Close Up – the official publication of the Country Music Association – in its Debut Spotlight. The piece speaks highly of Winfield’s Locket and the debut record:

“Start with sibling synchronicity. Add plenty of talent, parceled out individually to both Brooke and Leslie Martin. For final sweetening, place them in Denham Springs, La., where they could grow up in a musically diverse milieu of old-school gospel, swampy blues, Southern rock, straight-ahead Country and whatever else wafted in their direction from nearby New Orleans. What do you get? The answer lies in the self-titled debut of Winfield’s Locket, the nom de tune embraced by the Martin sisters in the studio and onstage.

Their history as collaborators stretches back to when they were both around 4 years old, and you can hear it in their sure-handed craftsmanship. The diversity in their taste is evident, too, from the deep-fried slide guitar on ‘Worth the Drive’ to the urgent blend of prickly banjo and electric guitar power chords on their first single, ‘Save Yourself.’ That track, written by both sisters and Paul Sikes, fits the pattern established throughout Winfield’s Locket of alternating solo and harmonized vocals with equal ease in every setting.

They draw unexpectedly from Celtic ballad tradition on ‘In a Letter,’ saunter through the R&B feel and a cappella vocal hook of ‘Is This Ever Gonna End’ and push more assertively on the ones that slam harder…where both elements coexist, as in the intimate verses and punchier triplet beats on the chorus of ‘No Place to Hide,’ they tie it all together with little apparent effort but plenty of soul.”

Winfield’s Locket experienced one of the thrills of a lifetime in early 2011 when they appeared as a featured guest artist on Kenny Rogers’ acclaimed record, The Love Of God, which debuted at #8 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, #2 on the Top Christian Albums chart and #31 on the Billboard Top 200 following its release on March 7, 2011. The sisters sing with the music legend on the classic, “In The Sweet By And By” – a hymn Rogers says was his mother’s favorite song. It’s one of the most authentic roots/bluegrass‐flavored songs the Grammy Award‐winning icon has ever recorded.

“Listen closely to the background voices on ‘In The Sweet By And By’ and you’ll hear the unique harmonies of country duo Winfield’s Locket,” Rogers writes in the liner notes of The Love Of God. “They – like me – have been influenced by gospel music from a very early age. The sisters have a sound based on the way they layer their harmonies, the timbre of their voices, and the way they phrase. I was so glad we could find a moment to share on this album. This has always been one of my favorite songs, and if it wasn’t before, it is now.”

Rogers and Winfield’s Locket are joined on the song by such extraordinary musicians as the incomparable Jerry Douglas of Alison Krauss + Union Station on dobro (Ray Charles, James Taylor, Brooks & Dunn), renowned picker Bryan Sutton on acoustic guitar and mandolin (Dolly Parton, Bela Fleck, Ricky Skaggs), and acclaimed bassist Viktor Krauss on acoustic bass (Alison Krauss, John Fogerty, Michael McDonald). The Whites and Point of Grace also make guest appearances on Rogers’ album, which continues to receive critical acclaim.

“It was a great honor to be a part of such an outstanding album,” Brooke Martin said of recording ‘In The Sweet By And By’ for The Love Of God. “We had so much fun singing harmonies for one of country music’s biggest legends. It was almost surreal. It was a very exciting time in our lives, and it's something we'll never forget!”

“It was an honor to sing with Kenny,” Leslie Martin added. “He is one of my favorite singers, and I highly respect how versatile he is both vocally and musically. My grandma, Dorothy, and her sister, Billie, loved harmonizing to ‘In The Sweet By And By,’ so when we were asked to be featured on this track, I was ecstatic. I really enjoyed being part of the record!”

And the honors keep coming.

Winfield’s Locket was highlighted in AirPlay Direct’s “Women In Music” issue of The Direct Buzz this past January as a rising act to watch for.

In June of 2011, Winfield’s Locket was invited by the Country Music Association to kick off the 2011 CMA Music Festival in Nashville – celebrating the festival’s 40th birthday – with an a capella performance of the national anthem in front of thousands of Country Music fans just prior to Gary Allan’s festival-opening performance. One review posted on the 2011 CMA Music Festival Official Blog noted “the strong vocals and perfect harmony of the sisters prepared the crowd for [Gary] Allan’s performance.” Winfield’s Locket also made its full-band performance debut at CMA Music Fest with a high-energy set on the Bud Light Stage that had new fans from Chicago to Australia raving.

Also in June, Winfield’s Locket was among a very select group of artists to participate in the highly regarded All About Music TV & Film Retreat in Nashville. Top music supervisors from New York and Los Angeles, as well as advertising firm representatives from San Francisco and Chicago, on the hunt for great music to place in their current movie and television projects, attended private showcases by Winfield’s Locket and others.

This Labor Day weekend, Winfield’s Locket will perform with its brilliant live band, featuring some of Nashville’s top young musicians, on a Grammy-heavy bill at the Copper Country Music Festival in Copper Mountain, CO. The festival will include live sets from the North Mississippi Allstars, Jimmie Vaughan, Tim O’ Brien, Ricky Skaggs, Taj Mahal Trio, The Long Players and others.

Winfield’s Locket is back in the studio this summer recording new music for a yet-to-be-titled forthcoming album.

For more information, including live performances, press, tour schedule and audio samples, visit: www.winfieldslocket.com

General Info

Genre: Country / Pop / Rock
Location Nashville, Un
Profile Views: 41925
Last Login: 1/20/2012
Member Since 5/31/2007
Website http://www.myspace.com/winfieldslocket
Record Label Unsigned (This Side Up Records - Indie)
Type of Label Unsigned
Bio
Members
Influences
Led Zeppelin, Heart, Fleetwood Mac, Keith Urban, Little Big Town, SheDaisy, Trisha Yearwood, The Wreckers, Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone, Norah Jones, Alison Krauss, Martina McBride, Jack Johnson, Lady Antebellum, Miranda Lambert. MANAGEMENT/BOOKING: Contact: Jason Henke 615.497.6791 jjhenke@gmail.com
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Critical Acclaim For WL

ROBERT K. OERMANN, MUSIC ROW:
“For a DisCovery Award, you can’t do much better than Winfield’s Locket…get it (their CD). The track [“Worth The Drive”] is echoey and enchanting. Their vocals are fierce and fine. The Middle-Tennessee local traffic directions are ultra cool: ‘I’m a little bit hard to find…but I’m worth the drive.’”

KENNY ROGERS written in the liner notes of his Gospel album, THE LOVE OF GOD:
"Listen close to the background voices on 'In The Sweet By And By.' You'll hear the unique harmonies of country duo Winfield's Locket. They -- like me -- have been influenced by gospel music from a very early age. The sisters have a sound based on the way they layer their harmonies, the timbre of their voices, and the way they phrase. I was so glad we could find a moment to share on this album. This has always been one of my favorite songs, and if it wasn't before, it is now."

CMA CLOSE UP (Official Country Music Association Publication):
“Start with sibling synchronicity. Add plenty of talent, parceled out individually to both Brooke and Leslie Martin. For final sweetening, place them in Denham Springs, La., where they could grow up in a musically diverse milieu of old-school gospel, swampy blues, Southern rock, straight-ahead Country and whatever else wafted in their direction from nearby New Orleans. What do you get? The answer lies in the self-titled debut of Winfield’s Locket, the nom de tune embraced by the Martin sisters in the studio and onstage.

Their history as collaborators stretches back to when they were both around 4 years old, and you can hear it in their sure-handed craftsmanship. The diversity in their taste is evident, too, from the deep-fried slide guitar on ‘Worth the Drive’ to the urgent blend of prickly banjo and electric guitar power chords on their first single, ‘Save Yourself.’ That track, written by both sisters and Paul Sikes, fits the pattern established throughout Winfield’s Locket of alternating solo and harmonized vocals with equal ease in every setting.

They draw unexpectedly from Celtic ballad tradition on ‘In a Letter,’ saunter through the R&B feel and a cappella vocal hook of ‘Is This Ever Gonna End’ and push more assertively on the ones that slam harder…where both elements coexist, as in the intimate verses and punchier triplet beats on the chorus of ‘No Place to Hide,’ they tie it all together with little apparent effort but plenty of soul.”

MATT BJORKE, FOUNDER OF ROUGHSTOCK, FOR 101 DISTRIBUTION:
“If an artist has crafted something that's on par (or better than) what major labels would be putting out themselves, why not pick up a self-financed and released recording? There are plenty of examples of artists with recordings that are mainstream-ready or 'critical' favorites with recordings that present the artists as they truly want to be presented on record…The same thing can be said for a duo called Winfield's Locket. They have produced an album with their management company (Kenny Rogers' Dreamcatcher Entertainment) and it is another fine example of something that could add to country's mainstream.”

CHUCK DAUPHIN, MUSIC NEWS NASHVILLE:
“A hot new duo (with a) stunning blend of harmonies…”

ASHLEY HERRICK, CITY SOCIAL:
“These girls have it all…their smooth mixture of genres makes (their music) difficult to categorize but this also makes their sound even more intriguing…with a style that can only be described as a little bit of everything, the talented duo is making waves in the Nashville music scene…listening to their music and hearing them talk about their work quickly reveals two of Winfield’s Locket’s strongest features: the effortless harmonies that only sisters can produce, and their charming personalities–both which come from the nurturing that a musical family provides.”

KEN ROSENBAUM, TOLEDO BLADE – TOLEDO, OH regarding Kenny Rogers’ The Love Of God (Winfield’s Locket sings harmony vocals with the music legend on “In The Sweet By And By”):
“…The musicianship throughout is impeccable, with sterling instrumental accompaniment and vocal backups…Each arrangement on these Gospel gems puts the lyrics and vocals out front, with dramatic and sometimes soaring musical emphasis done with restraint…”

STORMY LEWIS, ROUGHSTOCK:
“Brooke and Leslie Martin are talented sisters who play multiple instruments and write their own material. Add in an assist from Bering Strait banjo player Ilya Toshinskiy, and you have an album that sounds heavenly…the overlapping vocals and pretty harmonies keep you from immediately realizing how interchangeable the sister's voices are…

‘Save Yourself’ is the perfect song to introduce the band to mainstream country radio. It features a stomping beat, banjo nearly burred under a screaming guitar and female ‘sass’…

‘In A Letter’ is a Greencards-esque ballad about pining for a lost lover. ‘The Storm’ jumps more into The Waifs territory, all bluesy snarls and sinister intensity. ‘Worth the Drive’ is a clever and catchy tune about a woman offering her lover increasingly obscure back roads directions to her house, just to see how hard he's willing to work to get to her. ‘I guess you won't know 'til you get here if I'm worth the drive,’ she shrugs.”

LISA GIARAMITA, STRUM MAGAZINE:
“Gorgeous harmonies that interweave so elegantly, they tingle down your spine every time you hear them – that’s Winfield’s Locket.”

CHECK OUT WINFIELD'S LOCKET IN THE CURRENT ISSUE OF CMA CLOSE UP MAGAZINE!
VOL. 7, 2011 - "DEBUT SPOTLIGHT" SECTION (PG. 27)
Click on the photo below for a closer view:

CITY SOCIAL MAGAZINE - NOV. 2010 ISSUE
Click on the photo below for a closer view:

CMA CLOSE UP MAGAZINE - AUG./SEPT. ISSUE
"NEW CD RELEASES" SECTION (PG. 29)
Click on the photo below for a closer view:

ON "BETTER NASHVILLE" (WSMV/NBC-TV)

ON "LIVE AT FIVE" (WBIR/NBC-TV KNOXVILLE)

IN THE STUDIO WITH MARTINA MCBRIDE

"BACK TO ME" -
LIVE FROM THE 2011 CMA MUSIC FESTIVAL

"NO PLACE TO HIDE" - LIVE

"IS THIS EVER GONNA END" - LIVE

"HOPE IS ON THE WAY" - LIVE

"IF I COULDN'T FAIL" - LIVE

"LOVE'S UNDERTOW" - LIVE

Status and Mood

Winfield's Locket Writing for a new record! Had a wonderful co-write yesterday and more to come next week!
8:54 PM Jan 20
Winfield's Locket Wishing everyone a very Happy New Year!!
6:03 AM Jan 3
Winfield's Locket Join us this Saturday from 6-9p at Columbia Square Market and Cafe! Would love to see you there!
6:01 PM Dec 7, 2011