LADIES was born from a shared love of The Holidays between the three stellar vocalists, each an ascendant artist in her own right: Lydia Ramsey, Erin Austin (OK SWEETHEART), and Miranda Zickler (Kuinka).
This year they’ve decided to release their version of “Blue Christmas” since it’s so – unfortunately – timely. It was engineered and mixed by Andy Park (Death Cab for Cutie, Ciara).
In lieu of a live show or livestream, they’ve come up with the idea of “Carolvanning”. During the entire month of December, LADIES will be making stops outside of homes around the Seattle area in “The Carol Van” popping out to sing a couple of holiday songs at each stop.
In the fall of 2018, the trio released “Ladies, It’s Cold Outside”, their reinterpretation of the controversial Holiday classic. This led to a feature on Seattle NPR affiliate KNKX and inclusion in the Apple Music Holiday Playlist. Their version of the song was streamed over 500K time in the first month alone.
When Ramsey, Austin, and Zickler sing together, their voices ring out with a glowing warmth, clear and bright as a deep winter’s night. Mezzosoprano Ramsey handles the high harmonies and Zickler, the alto, takes on the low harmonies, while Contralto Austin pirouettes melodically between them. Each vocalist has a unique, captivating timbre; together in harmony they create a sound profoundly transporting and timeless.
Glide is premiering “Blue Christmas” from LADIES, a poignant track where the trio keeps it real singing sprucely of a Christmas without one’s usual family, friends, and lovers. LADIES offer a timeless touch, delivering a would-be radio hit with contagious melodies and sparkling vocal embellishments. It’s difficult not to hear the echoes of Patsy Cline and Linda Rondstadt in this stunner.
“This year, it’s been so tough not being able to see our loved one’s in person, it really is a ‘Blue Christmas without you.’ But, forever the optimists, we added an original section at the end of the song as a reminder that we will get through this,” says Ramsey.
“We considered streaming a show online, then realized the greatest gift we could give this year would be to find a way to actually play live for people. The Carol Van lets us do that in a safe, socially distanced way. We arranged stripped down versions of the songs, just three-part harmonies accompanied by a ukulele. With the van decorated in garland and Christmas trimmings, away we go, bringing our holiday cheer directly to people all over the city. After the first day of Carolvanning, we were all in tears seeing people’s reactions, being reminded once again of the impact live music has on the human spirit.”
Photos by Kendall Rock
