With their family connection, inoffensive folk-rock sound, and love of Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, the Webb Sisters unsurprisingly drew comparisons to the Corrs. Born in Kent to a tennis coach mother and a father who’d played with the Dave Travis Band, sisters Charley (b. 1979) and Hattie (b. 1981) developed an interest in music at a young age and soon learned to play several instruments including the harp and piano. As teenagers, the pair were giving recitals around the country, appearing at various charity functions and performing in front of The Queen and Princess Anne. After meeting record producer Johnny Pierce, they traveled to Nashville to work on their debut album A Piece of Mind, which they went onto sell at gigs across L.A. Settling in an artists’ commune in Venice Beach, they soon landed a publishing deal and began working with Jeff Trott (Sheryl Crow) and Mike Elizondo (Eminem) on songs that would form the basis of their second album. Two years later, they returned to the U.K. and signed to Mercury Records. Inspired by the likes of Tom Petty, Sinéad O’Connor, and Nick Drake, they recorded Daylight Crossing at Abbey Road Studios with Steve Lipson (Sting) and Youth (Dido) on production duties.
After supporting the likes of Jamie Cullum, Jason Mraz, and James Morrison on their U.K. tours, the album was released in 2006. Featuring the singles «I Still Hear It,» a big airplay hit on Radio 2, and «Still the Only One,» it received critical acclaim but failed to reach the Top 75. A year later, they played at America’s 400th Anniversary Celebrations in Jamestown, VA, recorded a new song for a Judy Collins’ tribute album and joined Sharon Robinson as backup singers on Leonard Cohen’s first tour in 14 years. The duo worked on their third album with multiple Grammy Award-winning producer Peter Asher and Angelo Petraglia (Kings of Leon).
