The Higgins

They’ve already had a rich, enviable career the last couple of years, working festivals, award shows and, memorably, before 60,000 people in Guangzhou, China. But only now is the music of The Higgins, the family trio with the jaw-dropping harmonies, finally available on Open Road Recordings. The album of a dozen songs is called Real Thing, and the Canadian country music community has been rubbing its hands nearly raw in anticipation. Already the hook-laden, leadoff “Flower Child” has proven the ideal radio introduction for Kathleen, Eileen and John Higgins, flying up the charts and raising eyebrows all the way. Here, say long time fans, we go. Everything else, fabulous as it was, has been practice, positioning, preparatory. Now the fun really begins. It’s part mystical, part DNA and always a revelation when two or more from the same family join in sweet, soaring harmonies. Country music history is peppered with singing siblings from the brothers Delmore, Louvin and Everly to bluegrass-ers like the Cox Family and the Whites, not to mention two of the three Dixie Chicks. It’s tradition. The three Higgins only came to that tradition via a serendipitous route. They’re Irish, are the Higgins, a close and loving family of seven children from beautiful Delta, British Columbia farm country with a working dad, a stay-at-home mom and no cable TV. There was always plenty of music around and plenty of time to indulge in it. When prodigious Kathleen, youngest of the trio, was only seven years old she was invited to sing at a family friend’s St. Patrick’s Day party. She inveigled Eileen and John to help, they figured out the harmonies to the mournful old Irish tune “The Fields Of Athenry” and sang it a cappella, holding everyone spellbound, gobsmacked and stunned silent. It was a nice start that led to local appearances here and there over the years. Nobody was even thinking about a career in music when at 16 John suffered a serious forklift accident that left him with a broken back and recuperating for many months. To ease the boredom he took up the guitar and soon a lot of pieces started falling into place. He was a quick musical study, his singing sisters joined in and before long The Higgins family band was born. And they were good, really good, right from the get go. And word got around. In no time they were landing A list, main stage gigs at the famed Merritt Mountain Music Festival, the Pacific National Exhibition and a prestigious showcase slot at the Canadian Country Music Association annual confab. The trio was dripping with potential and eventually Vancouver music veteran David Wills came on board as manager, later joined by Nashville’s DJ McLachlan. When he first heard a copy of their traditional “Factory Girl”, now included on Real Thing, McLachlan immediately booked a flight and came 3000 miles to see if these three could be for real. They were, and are. Manager DJ McLachlan brings unique depths of experience to The Higgins family band after working with other familial groups like the legendary Cash family, bluegrass’ Scruggs family, the Gatlins and Bellamys of country fame and, over in jazz, the Marsalis family. He also manages the finest dobro guitar player on the planet, Jerry Douglas. When he first encountered The Higgins they were singing mostly covers – the Dixie Chicks were always a big inspiration – but soon enough began introducing their own material until now, with the release of Real Thing, they have a hand in writing all but four of the songs. Whether it’s the cheery look back at the music of the 60s on “Flower Child” or the breeziness of “Sounds of Summer”, the songs are exuberant and hook you instantly. “16 Going On 30” about the travails of youth and life passing you by is darker while “Second Hand Car” is a mini movie about the big getaway from familiarity with “a full tank of dreams and you beside me”. Produced by Vancouver’s Paul Shatto and David Wills, Real Thing is an album of promises made and promises delivered. It may be The Higgins’ debut, but it has the stamp of a rare maturity and authority. The Higgins – John, Eileen and Kathleen – come from rock solid beginnings that give them a clear-eyed focus on where they want to go. They are, indeed, the Real Thing.