Last Saturday gave way for the Swedish folk duo, First Aid Kit to bring their beautiful and mesmerizing sounds to a packed audience at the Lisner Auditorium in Washington, DC.
Touring to promote their third studio effort, the 2014 album Stay Gold, sisters Johanna and Klara Söderberg played through their country inspired, indie folk set and couldn’t have been more well received by their DC audience. What struck me most about the performance was their beautiful and careful harmonies—the way both sister’s voices played off of each other was utter perfection, comparable to such acts as Simon and Garfunkel and The Milk Carton Kids.
It’s obvious the this Swedish duo has a long history of working together. Aside from their familial roots and breathtaking vocals, the duo—backed by a top-notch band that consisted of a drummer and a guitar /steel guitar player—had extremely well thought out arrangements and songcraft. While you can tell their roots are folk based, the overall sound was more of an indie band with a country soul.
The most memorable moment of the evening came about half way through the set when both Klara and Johanna insisted that the stage crew shut off the microphones. The sisters then proceeded to come to the front of the stage and amaze the audience with their vocal range and natural projection. In the moment it seemed like the entire auditorium was the size of a matchbox.
The band saved their most popular song, “Emmylou” for the last part of their encore and earlier threw a few Jack White songs into their set, playing the opening to “Seven Nation Army” followed by a very lovely version of “Love Interruption.”
