Tigirlily Gold Interview - Shoot Tequila, I Tried A Ring On

Tigirlily Gold, which consists of sisters Kendra Slaubaugh & Krista Slaubaugh, has emerged as a popular country duo in the past two years. They’ve signed with Monument Records (a division of Sony Music) and they’ve had two singles that have made the Billboard country charts: “Shoot Tequila” and their current single, “I Tried A Ring On.” Impressively, they were recently named New Duo of the Year at the ACM (Academy of Country Music) Awards.

The duo’s new album, Blonde, was released in late July, and it’s a strong collection of songs that showcase their appealing, expressive lead vocals & harmonies (Kendra is the lead singer) and their fine songwriting skills. The duo co-wrote all of the songs on their album, except for their cover version of the hit “Bleeding Love,” which has been a favorite in their live shows.

	SPECIAL FEATURE: STREAMING AUDIO
	Here’s an excerpt of our interview with Tigirlily Gold, who tell how they wrote their hit, “Shoot Tequila.”

Their hits “Shoot Tequila” and “I Tried A Ring On” demonstrate the duo’s wide range as songwriters & artists. “Shoot Tequila” is a fun, boisterous party song, whereas “I Tried A Ring On” is a heartfelt, sensitive song about the breakup of a couple’s engagement. Other highlights on the album are the sassy, uptempo title cut “Blonde,” the flowing, easygoing “Leroy,” the reflective “Hometown Song,” and the country-rock “Stupid Prizes.”

Kendra & Krista Slaubaugh are originally from the small town of Hazen, North Dakota, where they formed their band in high school. They subsequently played many shows and toured in the midwest, building an enthusiastic fanbase. Then in 2017, the sisters decided to move to Nashville to pursue their music goals.

After moving to Nashville, they landed a weekly residence at Diers Bentley’s Whiskey Row club & restaurant on lower Broadway. Playing long sets three to four nights a week, they honed their live performance skills, while also developing their songwriting. They also went to college at Belmont University, and they both graduated with degrees in music business.

Here’s the video of Tigirlily Gold’s hit, “Shoot Tequila.”

It was in 2021 that they independently released their original song “Somebody Does,” which caught the attention of Nashville music execs, including top songwriter & producer Shane McAnally (who is Co-President of Monument Records). Soon after, Kendra & Krista signed with McAnally & Monument Records.

Prior to releasing their debut album, Tigirlily Gold released two EPs: Tigirlily in 2021 and Blonde in 2023. Then last year, they had a breakthrough when their single “Shoot Tequila” became a hit. Notably, Tigirlilly Gold received two CMT Music Awards nominations for Group/Duo Video of the Year and Breakthrough Female Video of the Year (for the video of “Shoot Tequila”).

We are pleased to do this new Q&A interview with Kendra Slaubaugh & Krista Slaubaugh of Tigirlily Gold. They tell how they got started in Nashville, and they discuss their debut album, Blonde, and their hits “Shoot Tequila” and “I Tried A Ring On.”

DK: I read that you’re from North Dakota. How did you get started with singing and writing songs?

	SPECIAL FEATURE: STREAMING AUDIO
	Here’s another excerpt of our interview with Tigirlily Gold, who tell how they wrote their hit, “I Tried a Ring On.

Krista: Kendra and I are only a few years apart, but Kendra always loved to sing anywhere she could possibly sing. We grew up listening to a lot of 2000s country radio. Then I started writing songs at the age of 10, and we began writing songs together around 14 and 16. Then we started a band and chose the name Tigirlily Gold at that age. So we’ve been Tigirlily Gold for 12 years now.

DK: On YouTube, you have videos that are about seven years old. Were you still in North Dakota then, or did you already move to Nashville?

Here’s the video of Tigirlily Gold’s hit, “I Tried a Ring On.”

Kendra: We moved to Nashville a little over seven years ago. In August 2017 we made the jump from the small town of Hazen, North Dakota, to Nashville, to chase this dream. When we moved to Nashville, we started going to Belmont University, and we both got our degrees in music business. And while we were doing that, to pay for college and to put food on our table and to have a job, we started playing down on Broadway in Nashville for about three years. It was three days a week, doing a four-hour cover gig. And while we doing our live gig, we were writing songs and going to college.

Then the pandemic hit, and for about a year we didn’t know what was going to come our way. We were fully independent up to that point. So we hopped on TikTok and social media as an outlet to stay creative during that time when we really had no work. Then thankfully it ended up being a silver lining and we signed our first record deal with Monument Records in 2021. We signed a record deal with them, and now the last few years we’ve gotten to experience a lot of stuff that we never thought possible. So we’ve been having the time of our lives out here.

DK: I like your song “Somebody Does,” which you released three years ago. Did that song help you get your label deal with Monument Records?

Kendra: Yes. We were independent artists, and we had written “Somebody Does” during Covid. That song went viral on TikTok, and it caught the attention of (hit songwriter/producer) Shane McAnally at Monument Records. That song helped us secure the deal. We were already talking with them, but that song helped us in so many ways.

DK: After you signed with Monument Records, you released your first EP called Tigirlily. Can you talk about making that EP?

Kendra: There was a lot of excitement in the air for our first EP. Obviously, we had just signed a record deal which was a huge step in our career. It was also a dream come true, because the team we’re working with is incredible…we’ve always looked up to Shane McAnally. For this EP, he was a producer with Louis Newman, and it was great to work with Shane and see how he goes about producing. We got to write with him and (hit songwriter) Josh Osborne on a song called “Dig Yourself.” It was a really exciting time.

Here’s the video of Tigirlily Gold’s song, “Blonde.”

DK: Last year you had a hit with “Shoot Tequila.” What inspired you to write this song?

Krista: “Shoot Tequila” was inspired by our days on Broadway (in Nashville). We played Broadway for three years for four-hour cover gigs, and we saw a lot of tequila happening down there. There were a lot of bachelorette parties. And we wanted our own honky-tonk song, so that’s how “Shoot Tequila” came to be. Kendra had the title for it, and we wrote it with Kevin Griffin (of the band Better Than Ezra) & David Mescon.

We tested “Shoot Tequila” out live before we recorded it. Every time we played that song live, people were already singing it back to us. So we had a good feeling about that song, and that became our first song at country radio.

DK: You’ve recently released your debut album, called Blonde. Can you talk about the making of your album?

Kendra: Although out debut album, Blonde, was released just a month ago, we started writing this record about three years ago. The first song we wrote for the record was “Blonde,” and this whole album encompasses that inner confidence, that boldness, that sassiness, that ability to poke fun at yourself when life is not going your way. And we wanted to channel that girl group energy with the record, and so there’s 10 songs on it.

There’s a song for everyone. We tried to cover a lot of ground—the subject matter, the melodies, the different vibes on the record. I think when people listen to the record, they’re going to hear that and attach themselves to different songs. And it’s been fun to see everybody’s reaction and choose their favorite songs, and see everybody singing them when we play our live shows.

DK: You’re currently on the charts with your new single, “I Tried A Ring On.” Can you tell the story behind writing that song?

Here’s the video of Tigirlily Gold’s song, “Leroy.”

Krista: “I Tried A Ring On” is about…an emotion that’s not talked about as much with breakup songs and country music. There’s a lot of songs that talk about how hard it is to get over that person…you miss them less and less every day. But there wasn’t a lot of songs that talk about how frustrating it is to have to start over from square one, when you thought you had a life forever with somebody.

We wrote this song a couple years ago, when a lot of our friends were going through breakups, and they were so frustrated. They thought they had locked in forever…they thought they were gonna marry that person. And at the time, I was in a relationship, and fast forward a couple months after we wrote this song, I kind of manifested my own breakup because I thought during that moment that my ex and I would split, and we did. So I joke about that now, but it’s really cool to see how this song can help people going through breakups or who are calling off engagements, or getting divorced. A lot of people can relate their story to this song. And I hope it helps people heal, and know that they’re going to be okay with whatever they’re going through.

DK: On your album, the two of you wrote or co-wrote almost all the songs. What’s you’re songwriting process?

Kendra: We have very different writing strengths. I will say I am the lead singer, so I tend to lean more into melody and thinking about the concept of a song and the overarching message. Whereas Krista’s really good at phrasing and lyrics and coming up with vibe. For our writing process, we always write together, whether it’s just the two of us or whether we’re with other writers here in Nashville. We feel with the two of us writing together, that’s how we get the true Tigirlily Gold sound. But we always have to start with an idea that we’re excited or passionate about. If the idea’s not there and we’re not excited about that, I don’t think we’ve ever cut a song where we weren’t really excited about the idea in the first place. So that has to be there. And then the lyrics and the music all come together at the same time. Krista will play a few things on the guitar, and then we work out the lyrics throughout. It’s a very collaborative process.

DK: On your new album, besides your singles “Shoot Tequila” and “I Tried a Ring On,” what are your other favorite songs?

Here’s the video of Tigirlily Gold’s song, “Hometown Song.”

Krista: Oh my goodness it’s so hard to choose. Lately I’ve been loving playing “Stupid Prizes” live, and I love playing “Letoy” live. Those are probably are my two other favorites.

DK: This year (in May) you won the ACM Award for New Duo or Group of the Year. How did it feel to receive this honor?

Kendra: Honestly, it was incredible, a lot of validation of the hard work we put in through the years. You know, we grew up sitting in our living rooms watching those awards shows, so to be on that stage to receive that award, knowing that the industry votes on that, it’s a feeling of validation. And we just got the physical award to put in our houses now, so it’s pretty cool seeing that there. That’s definitely dream stuff and we’ll never take that for granted.

DK: I visited your website tour page, and I saw that you’re playing many shows across the country. Can you talk about your live show and tour?

Krista: Performing live is our favorite thing to do as a band. This spring and summer we got to be on tour with many different artists. We did dates with Walker Hayes, Cole Swindell, Ashley MacBryde, and we did our first stadium show with Brad Paisley. So it’s really fun to do all these shows with people we’ve looked up to for long. But the touring never stops; we’ve just announced we’ll be on the main stage for Stagecoach Festival next year. So you can expect the touring from Tigirlily to never stop, and we love to put on a high energy live show. I think a lot of that stems from playing downtown Nashville for a couple years, just wanting to be as entertaining as possible and keep the party going.