Sisters break out on their own

Few people get to sing on a recording with their boss, but, in the case of Shaunna and Tina Larkin, their boss is Dolly Parton.

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For eight years, the sisters and their parents, Barbara and Lowell, have performed as The Larkin Family at Ms. Parton's Dollywood theme park in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.

Now, fiddle-playing Shaunna, 21, and mandolin-playing Tina, 19, have stepped out into the duet spotlight with their outstanding debut album, The Larkins, and their debut single, Steady as the Rain.

And who wrote their debut single and sings with them on the recording and the music video for the song? None other than their Dollywood boss, Ms. Parton, who also will sing at Shaunna's wedding Sept. 28 to the Larkins' dobro player, Randy Kohrs.

The album, produced by Bruce Bouton, is an excellent effort. My favorite cuts are the bluesy and sassy Lay Your Memory Down, the up-tempo numbers One Without the Other and Gone, and Head Over Heels, which they co-wrote with Mr. Kohrs and Mr. Bouton.

We're really excited about it," said Tina in a phone interview from the airport in Nashville, Tenn. "We were really picky when we selected the songs for this album. My favorite is Steady as the Rain, but I also really like Gone."

THE LARKINS

The Larkins "Lay Your Memory Down"

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Their performance schedule for the rest of this year offers a mix of shows as The Larkin Family and under their new duo billing as The Larkins. They will perform Friday, Aug. 29, at Rholetter's 12th annual Bluegrass Festival in Long Creek, S.C., on U.S. Highway 76 between Westminster, S.C., and Clayton, Ga. Festival hours that day are 4-11 p.m., with $10 admission. Call (864) 647-5768 for details.

Don Rhodes has written about country music for 32 years. He can be reached at (706) 823-3214 or at don.rhodes@morris.com.

--From the Friday, August 15, 2003 printed edition of the Augusta Chronicle