Chapel Hart stops at TempleLive in Fort Smith on new ‘Glory Days’ tour

<br>Chapel Hart stops at TempleLive in Fort Smith on new ‘Glory Days’ tour
MONICA HOOPER
mhooper@nwaonline.com

Chapel Hart is bringing their “Glory Days” to Fort Smith and El Dorado this week.

Sisters Danica and Devynn Hart, with cousin Trea Swindle, opened their “Glory Days Tour” at the Grand Ole Opry on Jan. 21, debuting their tribute to Loretta Lynn’s “Fist City.”

“We extended ‘Fist City’ to a song called ‘Welcome to Fist City,’” says Swindle. The iconic Lynn reached out to Chapel Hart after hearing “You Can Have Him, Jolene,” on “America’s Got Talent.” The performance won them the Group Golden Buzzer from all four judges and even got them a nod from Dolly Parton for the fun take on her song. Lynn then requested Chapel Hart create from her material.

Since their run on “America’s Got Talent,” the trio have performed dates at the Grand Ole Opry, were named to CMT’s Listen Up Class of ’23 and named “Next Women of Country,” among several more accolades. Now the ladies of Poplarville, Miss., are embarking on their first headlining national tour and are busy as ever.

“We have been working so hard trying to get everything prepared,” says Danica Hart. “Being independent, I think we have a little bit more pressure than maybe most artists to make sure that we get it right and to make sure that all these things are in line.”

Late last year, she had surgery on her vocal cords and “is recovering too well,” according to their manager, Danica adds. “I’ve just been talking ever since the doctor told me I was released into the world to start talking again. I’m so blessed and so grateful.”

She says that the surgery hasn’t changed the way her voice sounds, but that she’s had to adjust her methods.

“One of my challenges has been how to maximize the voice that I have. I had to sing incorrectly for so long to push past the nodes on my vocal cords,” she explains. “Me and my voice are on a journey right now. We had a pretty busy schedule in December, but she held up, and I’m trying to be good to her because she’s been good to me.”

On top of preparing for the tour, they are also working on a new album.

“We’re actually about to get ready to release the track that the tour was named after, ‘Glory Days,’” adds Swindle. The song was released on Jan. 20 across all streaming platforms.

“Glory Days” follows their 2021 album, “The Girls Are Back in Town,” featuring “You Can Have Him, Jolene” and “I Will Follow.” It also has their 2020 single, “Jesus and Alcohol,” with Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top on guitar. (He also plays a pastor in the video).

“We grew up in church, and literally every single day of the week, it was something church-related. When there’s church, there’s going to be music. [Like] Trea says that we pretty much grew up in a musical,” with family members hopping on piano and breaking out guitars whenever the family got together, says Devynn Hart. She adds that everyone in their family is a singer, which led the three of them to follow their dreams to New Orleans, where they first learned about the music industry from busking on the street.

“Busking was the most honest crowd you’ll ever come across because 100% of the people were heading somewhere else. It was your music that made them stop and either postpone or cancel their plans to spend a couple of hours sometimes just standing on the side of the road listening to you,” Trea adds. “It didn’t matter if you were a bum or businessman, it didn’t matter if you were on the top of the world or having your lowest day ever, you can see the impact that music has on people even whenever they’re least expecting it.”

With their new tour, which stops in Fort Smith on Feb. 4, they are watching their crowds grow even larger.

“Whenever you see people from different backgrounds, different races, different religions, all coming together just in the name of good music, people who probably in any other circumstance wouldn’t come and have fun together, coming together and just watching that happen with music is one of the most incredible things. I think we’re well on our way.”

FAQ

Chapel Hart

WHAT — Country music superstars Chapel Hart bring their first-ever national headlining tour to Arkansas.

WHEN — 8 p.m. Feb. 4

WHERE — TempleLive in Fort Smith

TICKETS — $39-$69; $125 VIP

INFO — fortsmith.templelive.com; chapelhart.com

Categories: Music