The three teenage sisters have rapidly become a rising name in the folk-rock scene — and they have no plans of slowing down.
When asked how The Burney Sisters first got into music, all three sisters responded in unison, “our mom.” The three Columbia natives, Olivia, Emma and Bella Burney, 17, 15 and 12, respectively, spent evenings watching The Voice and tinkering with the instruments that their mother just so happened to leave around the house.
“She bought a bunch of instruments and placed them around the house, hoping we’d pick them up,” Emma Burney said. “And we did.”
Drawing their inspiration from folk icons like The Avett Brothers and Brandi Carlile, the girls started to experiment with their emerging sound. With their talents combined, they rapidly mastered the electric and acoustic guitar, bass, piano, banjo, fiddle, and cello, rounding out their sound with three-part harmonies.
In their first single, “Constellations,” released in 2017, Olivia and Emma reprise the bluegrass tradition of the family band while adding a fresh indie feel through playful, yet poignant lyrics. Much like the band itself, the song begins with a ukulele melody.
Both Olivia and Emma took formal music lessons in their early childhood, but Olivia, the oldest of the sisters, was the first to pursue music independently after she snapped up a $1 ukulele from a garage sale in middle school.
As the sisters have matured, their sound has grown in tandem. With the addition of the youngest sister Bella Burney, age 12, in 2019 as a bassist and a high harmony singer, the band has carved out its niche through their self-defined genre of Americana-folk-rock fusion on a national scale.
Their latest album, “Then We’ll Talk,” released in 2021, emphasizes the rock in Americana-folk-rock, with a grungy opening track of droning guitar riffs, driving drums and low, cutting vocals. Navigating the complexities of growing up, idealism and identity, their music looks introspectively at their career as young musicians while maintaining a profound authenticity.
“Inspiring people through music is one of our biggest things,” Bella Burney said.
Each track on The Burney Sisters’ discography serves as a coming-of-age anthem, a comfort that has captivated audiences across the nation. In the past three years, they’ve played in 18 states at national festivals, notably Columbia’s Roots N Blues in 2021 and alongside artists of music legend.
“We kind of opened for Willie Nelson,” Emma Burney said.
“Well, it was the stage next to the stage,” Olivia Burney said.
With growing international recognition, they teased a potential European tour in 2024. Despite their achievements on the road, the sisters define their success in a more intimate way: their impact on one particular fan still lingers with the band.
“There’s this girl named Ruby who is 7 years old,” Emma Burney said, at which both Olivia and Bella launched into smile-filled anecdotes. “She said she wants to learn piano because of us.”
Ruby’s story reminded the sisters of the importance of continuing to make music despite the challenges they face as young, female musicians.
“People won’t always walk by the stage to see us play because they have this thing in their mind that we’re just kids,” Olivia Burney said. “When they might have liked the concert had they stayed.”
While the sisters understand where others’ doubts stem from, they feel it’s time for their doubters’ preconceived paradigms to be shaken.
“Music belongs to everyone,” Olivia Burney said. “It’s a way to let out joy.”
Bella Burney believes everyone should have a chance to share their love of music with the world. She challenges audiences to give all performers a fair shake.
“Be more open,” Bella Burney said, encouraging the audience to stop “being closed-minded of who they see [on stage].”
As the sisters navigate the industry, they’ve discovered who they are as artists, but more so, as sisters. All of their music is written in-house — literally. The majority of the songs are penned by Olivia in her bedroom, then brought to the main room where Emma and Bella create harmonies and bridges to layer in.
“[When writing] we don’t have to pretend,” Olivia Burney said. “We can tell each other how we really feel.”
They attribute their vulnerability to their closeness as sisters, something they believe to be the hallmark of their music.
“There’s been times where we have a month or two where we just can’t be creative at all,” Bella Burney said. “Then all of a sudden, we’re past that point.”
The Burney Sisters hope to release their next album in early 2023. While the album is still in the early stages, the sisters are excited to showcase new music to fans far and wide.
“[I love] seeing the effects of different songs on different rooms [when performing],” Olivia Burney said. “I love meeting people in different places.”
Edited by Lucy Valeski | lvaleski@themaneater.com
Copy edited by Kyla Pehr and Mary Philip
