Siblings’ music driven by family harmony for The Band Perry

• The Band Perry

The Band Perry, from left: Reid, Kimberly and Neil Perry. (Publicity photo)

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Sibling love is a key ingredient in the success of The Band Perry, a country trio rapidly rising to the top of the industry. The Perrys — Kimberly, Reid and Neil — entered the country scene together in 2008 and are mostly known for their hit single “If I Die Young,” which landed at No. 1 on the country charts.

Their follow-up single “You Lie” also achieved massive success, reaching No. 2 on the charts. Now the group tours with top country artists including Josh Turner and Keith Urban, along with headlining shows.

The Band Perry makes a stop in Mitchell, opening for Josh Turner tonight at the Corn Palace. Tickets for the show are $45 and available at the Corn Palace Box Office. As of earlier this week, only 75 tickets remained.

Lead vocalist Kimberly and younger brother Neil acknowledge much of their success comes from strong family ties.

“Family harmony is a long-standing tradition in country music. We’re excited to bring our thumbprint in that,” said Kimberly, in a telephone interview with The Daily Republic. “We know each other so well. We can really read each other live.

“And we’re a live band first and foremost. It’s amazing to sing live songs with folks all across the country.”

Since the trio released “If I Die Young” in 2010, their career has skyrocketed, and the hit not only soared toward the top of the country charts, but the pop and adult charts, too, making The Band Perry a well-known name across multiple music genres.

“We were always willing to walk with the song as far as it would go. The song is country, but it’s also for people. It’s so transcendent and it’s helped so many folks,” Kimberly said.

“Ironically, because it does have the word die in the title, it’s about life,” she added about “If I Die Young.” “I wrote it about contentment. Celebrate all the stuff we got to do and the people we love.

“If it all ended in this moment, we got to do all we wanted. Celebrate the lives in the years not the years in the lives.”

Kimberly wrote the track and, although she expected it to achieve success, she didn’t quite expect the eruption the song created.

“Purely from the artists, you never think when you create something like that in the basement you’d sing it for the whole country,” Kimberly said.

The more upbeat ballad “Hip to My Heart,” released in late 2009, put The Band Perry on the map. The single topped the country charts at No. 17.

“It did absolutely what we thought it would do,” Kimberly said of the track. “It drew attention to The Band Perry. We wanted it to say, ‘Where the heck did they come from and what the heck will they do next?’ It really set the stage to come out with a really powerful song.”

She added that the group’s self-titled debut album was built solely around the single “If I Die Young.”

“ ‘Hip to My Heart’ was just a left arm. It was an attention-getter,” she said.

The Band Perry recently released its fourth single off the album, “All Your Life” in early August. The group is excited to see where the single will land in the coming weeks.

Kimberly said that it’s been a favorite among men and women.

“Every woman wants to sing this to her guy and every guy wants to be the recipient,” Kimberly said of the ballad.

And with the rise of their career, the Perrys haven’t forgotten where they came from. All three have been immersed in the music industry since their youth. Kimberly began her journey at 15, fronting a band in high school. Her brothers, Reid, then 10, and Neil, who was 8, performed in a separate band with their buddies. They opened shows for Kimberly. “The height difference was glaring,” said Kimberly, laughing about why she wouldn’t perform with her brothers. “But they continued to grow and grow. After six years, we tied the knot as The Band Perry,” she said. And although the three work well together as artists, that doesn’t mean they don’t share some rough sibling love. “There’s no knockdowns and drag-outs, but we know how to pester each other,” Kimberly said. “We try to act more mature now that we’re in our 20s.” Neil added that pestering his older sister and brother is mostly a way to unwind. “But Mom is on the road and has to referee a little,” Kimberly said.

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