NEW YORK — The Secret Sisters, an Americana duo
that includes MTSU alumna Laura Rogers, was honored Saturday by the College of
Media and Entertainment at its annual industry event preceding the Grammy
Awards.
Recording Industry
graduate Laura Rogers and her sister, Lydia, are nominated for Best Folk Album
in Sunday’s 60th annual Grammy Awards. They shared their excitement,
and some life lessons, at a Manhattan venue crowded with industry executives
and university alumni.
“We’re shocked, we
feel like deer in the headlights, and we don’t know what to expect, so we’re
just taking it moment by moment and trying to relish each in the sense of
excitement,” Laura Rogers told Recording Industry chair Beverly Keel in an
on-stage interview.
“More than anything, I
feel a sense of redemption,” she said. “It’s a big honor for us.”
The sisters from
Muscle Shoals, Alabama, had a difficult path to the success celebrated during
this weekend’s Grammy festivities. Catching on shortly after Rogers graduated
from MTSU, they went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging
their team and filing bankruptcies.
Yet those hardships
became the material for the songs for their third album, a crowd-funded project
that would garner the nomination.
“The Secret Sisters'
success story is one of ups and downs that is truly a lesson in perseverance
and believing in yourself,” Keel said. “Instead of giving up, Laura and her
sister Lydia kept fighting for what they believed in, driving by their passion
for music, and their hard work has resulted in this Grammy recognition.
“That is certainly
something we want to instill in our students. Laura continues to make MTSU
proud and I am thrilled we are honoring her in this way.”
President Sidney A.
McPhee joined Keel in congratulating Laura for not only the nomination, but
demonstrating the grit and perseverance found in so many MTSU students and
alumni.
“Laura is a perfect
example of what we mean when we talk about True Blue spirit,” he said.
Laura Rogers is among
an array of MTSU former students honored at this year’s Grammys:
• Wayne Haun, (’94), from the School of
Music in the College of Liberal Arts, produced three of the Best Roots Gospel
Album nominees.
• Jason Hall, (’00), engineered Little
Big Town’s “The Breaker,” is included in the Grammy nomination for best country
album.
• Former student Sam Hunt’s
chart-busting “Body Like a Back Road” is nominated for best country solo
performance and best country song Grammys.
• Country trio Lady Antebellum,
which includes former MTSU student Hillary Scott, is nominated for Grammys
in the best country duo/group performance and best country album for “You Look
Good” and “Heart Break,” respectively.
• Two-time Grammy winner Torrance
Esmond, the 2003 MTSU music business graduate who’s known professionally as
“Street Symphony,” also will be looking for gold for his work on best
children’s album nominee “Rise Shine #Woke” by the Alphabet Rockers.
Laura Rogers described
her years at MTSU as “really transformative,” adding, “It put me in a place
where I had absolutely, continuous access to music on every level…
“The great thing about
MTSU is that they aren’t stuck in one old way of doing things. They keep up
with an ever-changing industry so that they are modern and up to speed on
everything,” she said.
Her advice to students
now? “Take it all it. Go to your classes. Do your homework. Respect your
teachers.”
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