MusicRowPics: Small Town Pistols

Pictured (L-R): Amanda and Tyler Wilkinson

Tyler and Amanda Wilkinson, of brother-sister duo Small Town Pistols, sampled tunes from their self-titled 2013 Canadian project for members of MusicRow staff on Tuesday (April 22). Tyler and Amanda, of course, first graced the U.S. Country charts in 1998 as a trio with their father Steve, called The Wilkinsons. They scored with the Top 10 hits “26 Cents” and “Fly (The Angel Song)” (both songs also topped the Canadian Country chart).

Fast forward a few years and they had nine Canadian Country Music Awards and a Juno award to their credit, as well as a reality television series.

After a commendable career start, Amanda and Tyler pursued solo careers, which were derailed after they learned their mother had cancer—she would later win her battle with the disease. Additionally, both siblings endured personal romantic breakups, which led to the decision to collaborate on song material as a duo. “We wanted to get back to songwriting to help sort out and express all of these emotions, and we had this ‘Ah ha!’ moment,” said Amanda.

The newly created duo signed with 604 Records, the production company of Nickelback singer Chad Kroeger and attorney Jonathan Simkin, and soon began working with fellow Canadian, producer/songwriter Joey Moi (Jake Owen, Florida Georgia Line, Nickelback). One of the many resulting songs from the collaboration was their first single, “Colourblind,” co-written by Amanda, Tyler, Moi and Jeff Johnson and recorded/produced by Moi in Vancouver and in Nashville.

During their visit to MusicRow, Amanda’s strong, soulful voice was in full force on “Colourblind,” as were the duo’s signature family harmonies. “Living On The Outside” was written with their dad and became a Top 10 song for the duo in Canada. “Get your heart broken and you’re set for at least 10-15 good heartbreak songs,” quipped Tyler. In 2013, they released the self-titled project Small Town Pistols, and earned nominations from the Canadian Country Music Association for Group or Duo of the Year, and Album of the Year for Small Town Pistols.

Their third musical offering was “My Family,” which is slated to be included on their upcoming project. The duo will showcase tonight at Nashville venue The Rutledge at 6 p.m.