Milwaukee duo SistaStrings wins instrumentalist of the year at Americana Music Awards

Piet Levy, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
·1 min read
Chauntee (left) and Monique Ross take in the applause from their hometown crowd at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on August 5, 2022. The sisters, who made waves in the local music scene with their duo SistaStrings, performed as part of Brandi Carlile's band at the Bucks arena.
Chauntee (left) and Monique Ross take in the applause from their hometown crowd at Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee on August 5, 2022. The sisters, who made waves in the local music scene with their duo SistaStrings, performed as part of Brandi Carlile's band at the Bucks arena.
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From playing "Saturday Night Live" to rocking stadiums on Pink's tour as part of Brandi Carlile's band, Milwaukee duo SistaStrings has had quite the ride since relocating to Nashville in 2021.

Now the Ross sisters Chauntee (violin and vocals) and Monique (cello and vocals) have achieved something else: They are Americana Music Award winners, winning for instrumentalist of the year at the awards in Nashville Wednesday night.

"Overwhelmed by the recognition given to them by longtime Americana favorite Dom Flemons, the tandem recalled their religious upbringing and their work spreading from (playing with Allison) Russell and Brandi Carlile to now also backing Brandy Clark at the Grammy-nominated artist's Oct. 25 Ryman concert," Marcus K. Dowling wrote in his coverage of the awards for the Tennessean.

Along with playing more Brandi Carlile shows this fall, including some dates on the Pink stadium tour, SistaStrings has been working on a new album, and the Ross sisters are touring as their own act behind Brandy Clark this fall, including shows at Thalia Hall in Chicago Oct. 19 and the Stoughton Opera House in Wisconsin Oct. 21.

Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or plevy@journalsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: SistaStrings wins instrumentalist of year at Americana Music Awards