Sister Wilene knows the power of an old country song – the kind that makes people sing, dance and reminisce together.

That’s why the Traverse City-area band – which will perform in Glen Arbor Sunday night – specializes in songs from artists like Patsy Cline and Bob Wills, among others, giving what they call “real country music” a whole new life.
MEMBERS OF the band Sister Wilene include (from left) Joe Wilson, Dave Collini, Mary Sue Wilkinson, Laura Bittinger, Kevin Gills and Don Julin. (Photo courtesy of Motley Cat Studio)
“We’ve talked a lot about what makes ‘old country’ music different than ‘new country’ music, because we get asked that a lot,” said Mary Sue Wilkinson, the band’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist. “One of the things is simply that the ‘old country’ music we play was written and performed a long time ago.”
Another difference lies in the production, Wilkinson said.

“Newer country music is more influenced by pop and rock ‘n roll,” she said. “It’s more orchestrated. Older country music is simpler in its instrumentation and simpler in its presentation. It’s just the instruments and voices, no added violin tracks or pop sound.”

Old country music is what Wilkinson listened to when she was growing up in Iowa.

“I got my first guitar when I was 12 years old,” she said. “My mom literally bought it for me with green stamps, which were like little coupons that you could save.”

She was involved with music in high school, but didn’t start seriously performing until she was in college.

“I graduated from high school in 1972, and at that time girls didn’t really play in bands outside of school,” Wilkinson said. “So I didn’t get that garage band experience that a lot of the guys had.”
After meeting her husband at a music festival, the couple began playing together with some friends, which Wilkinson said was her first “exposure to performing.”

Later, she became a member of the country bands Iowa Rose and The Pets.
Sister Wilene was born in late 2008 when the bands stopped performing as often as they had in the past.
“The bands I was with were playing less than I wanted, so I was sitting at home singing country songs by myself,” Wilkinson said. “I had heard the band Rusty Blaides, and I knew some of the guys, so I thought, ‘You know, I should be in Rusty Blaides.’”

In what she admits was a “bold move,” Wilkinson contacted the band members of Rusty Blaides and told them that she wanted to perform with them.

“It happened that their lead singer had just moved to Austin, so they decided to see what my materials sounded like,” Wilkinson said.

The guys from Rusty Blaides were drummer Dave Collini, bassist Kevin Gills, Joe Wilson on the steel guitar, and Don Julin on the guitar and mandolin, and they decided that they liked Wilkinson’s sound.
Lauran Bittinger, who had already started playing with Wilkinson, was also added into the mix as the band’s accordion player.

Wilkinson likened the first practices to first dates.
“It was a huge step out of my comfort zone,” she said. “I was nervous, they were nervous, we were all nervous. We would kind of apologize whenever we made mistakes, but everything fell into place after a while and it has been a lot of fun.”

In their first summer, the band has mostly played at small festivals and concerts in order to get their name out to the public, and Wilkinson said that they are looking forward to their upcoming performance as part of the Manitou Music Festival.

“We are excited to have a new place to play, though I’m sure some of the guys have played there before with their other bands,” she said. “People can expect a healthy dose of Patsy Cline and just some great country music. They are good songs and we have been getting really good responses.”

The performance will be held 8 p.m. Sunday at Studio Stage in Glen Arbor. Tickets are $15 for adults, and youths 18 and under will be admitted for free.

Sister Wilene will also perform later this month for Northport’s Music in the Park on Aug. 28.

By Codi Yeager
Enterprise intern