I admit it. As a music writer, I have a lot to learn about women in the music industry. What I do know, however, is that the first step in correcting that oversight is to not assign a label to musicians. Artists are artists, musicians are musicians, regardless of gender. Shook Twins, along with opening band Glitterfox, definitively made the case that — when it comes to creative, compelling music — gender is irrelevant.
Arriving in Bellingham, Washington, recently on a short Pacific Northwest tour, Shook Twins (Katelyn and Laurie) recently brought their “quirky folk music” to an enthusiastic crowd at the Wild Buffalo House of Music. Though not quite sold out, the audience’s energy nonetheless translated to widespread dancing and exuberant sing-alongs throughout the night.
It all started back in 2007, when the identical twins began writing, recording, and performing together as Shook Twins. Katelyn recalls, “Neither of us remember a time where we planned things out, it all unfolded naturally. We simply started to play out and call ourselves Shook Twins, because that’s simply who we are.”
Their 2008 debut album, You Can Have the Rest, was a collection of folk tunes peppered with hints of Americana and a unique banjo/guitar combination that singled out the duo as artists to watch. They’ve shared stages with Gregory Alan Isakov, Ani DiFranco, and The Lumineers, among many others. With each succeeding album (four, so far), EP (two), and performance (hundreds), the Twins’ fan base grew to include the likes of New York Times best-selling author Neil Gaiman, USA Today, Langhorne Slim, and Mason Jennings.
Katelyn has said, “We essentially morph into different settings. We can be a mellow duo, folk-rock club band, or weird late-night band. We love this sense of musical diversity.” At the Wild Buffalo on Jan. 23, we got all three versions of Shook Twins.
Portland, Oregon’s Glitterfox opened the proceedings with an hour long set of indie rock stew seasoned with Andrea Walker’s biting guitar and Solange Igoa’s spicy to sweet vocals. Combined with Eric Stalker’s bass and Blaine Heinonen’s drumming, the band’s music incorporates influences ranging from power pop to grunge to Americana. The finished musical recipe is a highly accessible and danceable indie rock concoction.
Under Chris Funk’s (The Decemberists) direction, Glitterfox has released five singles with a full-length debut album scheduled for later in 2025. Nearing the end of their set, Glitterfox invited Katelyn and Laurie onstage to sing (a gesture returned by Shook Twins during their encore). Clearly, camaraderie and friendship would rule this evening.
Stream Shook Twins’ 2019 release, Some Good Lives, on Spotify:
Soon after Glitterfox, the Twins came out to a darkened stage delicately lit with strings of Christmas, easing into the beautifully delicate “Figure it Out,” from 2019’s Some Good Lives (Dutch Records). As the stage lights brightened, the band (Katelyn on guitar and vocals, Laurie on banjo and vocals with Kyle Volkman-bass, Aber Miller-keys, Niko Slice-lead guitar, mandolin, and vocals, and Alex Radakovich-drums) broke into the bluegrassy “Vessels” from the same album. A visibly pregnant Katelyn announced that she was six months along while introducing a new song, “Baby.”
Another new song, “Dust” followed before “Time to Swim,” one of the Twins’ quintessential quirky folk songs. Driven by Laurie’s banjo and gorgeous layered harmonies, the song concluded the first half of the show. “Mad Scientist,” (from the 2017 EP, 2) with its lilting, traditional melody returned the show to its folk roots. A gorgeous performance of “Safe” (from Some Good Lives) followed. As the evening began to wind down, the uptempo 2016 single, “Call Me Out,” a song about honesty and truth, got the crowd moving again.
Watch Shook Twins (duo) perform “Safe” live at Blue Rooms Studio on YouTube:
“Stay Wild” perfectly encapsulated the quirky folk description that summarizes Shook Twins music. Starting off with a perfectly lovely folk melody and tempo, once the drums kick in the song evolves into a full-fledged disco workout.
In fact, earlier in the set, they’d even managed to incorporate a short rap into a song. For the final song, “Hand Up,” the Twins new single, Glitterfox returned to the stage, confirming the good vibes between the two bands wasn’t simply part of the act. In fact, the combined supergroup returned for an encore which included a nod to the master, a rocking and jubilant, “Like a Rolling Stone.”
Listen to the official audio for “Hand Up” by Shook Twins on YouTube.
As the house lights returned and the exhausted, happy crowd filed out, I reflected on the importance of not applying labels to music, or people. Shook Twins and Glitterfox come from diverse points on the musical, and human, spectrum. Andrea Walker and Solange Igoa are a married couple, queer, and neurodivergent; realities that make their way into the couple’s songwriting. Katelyn and Laurie, though their pronouns may be her/she, nonetheless take a unique approach to their music, as well as careers. Laurie recently told Source Weekly, “Our lives have been a lot different since COVID, really. Everything really shifted career-wise for us.”
Yet somehow, their separate sets as well as the onstage camaraderie, worked so well it felt like there were no distinctions between the bands and their music; surely, labeling genders wasn’t relevant. There was a certain fluidity, you could say. And as I’ve come to learn, remaining flexible and understanding is the key to appreciating music that’s new, unique, and “quirky.”
As the Twins say, “When you listen to us, we want you to remember how to feel more comfortable in your own skin. We hope you walk away feeling more like yourself, because we’re fully ourselves on stage. We don’t ever take ourselves too seriously. We have fun up there. That’s our message through the music…When we play, it’s a night for everyone to escape. We all need that as humans—maybe now more than ever.”
For more music, video, and tour information, please visit Shook Twins website.
Here are some more photos of Shook Twins at the Wild Buffalo House of Music on Jan. 23, 2025. All photos courtesy of and copyright Mark Caicedo.
