Back in 2015, father and daughter Steve and April Bennett were driving home from a gig they had played with their new band Wild and Blue when April told her dad that her engagement to her fiancé was over. And it had ended badly. She told him that she was going to sell the wedding dress because she “ain’t going to use it.”
“That stuck with me,” Steve says.
The next day, Steve wrote the song “Wedding Dress For Sale” with his daughter in mind to sing it. This was the first time he’d written a song specifically for another person—and he’d been writing songs since he was a teenager.
The pair had been performing together since April, now in her late ’20, was two and a half years old. She would often sit in and sing with Steve’s band, Steve Bennett and One Eyed Jack. As an adult, April moved to New York, but when she moved back in 2015, they started playing again. It suddenly felt like it might warrant being its own project.
“Everything new that we tried had a different energy to it,” April says. “People were stopping and listening in a way that they hadn’t before. We both looked at each other and felt like this was a new chapter. And it needed a new name.”
The duo plays a mix of folk, country and rock; their sets are a combination of covers and Steve originals. Shortly before this project started, Steve hadn’t written originals for a while, being too busy with work obligations. That changed about four years ago.
“The dam broke. I’ve written a ton of new songs,” Steve says.
Now that April is back in the area, the two play together as often as they can. They’ve both played with other musicians, but just see something special about playing with each other.
“There’s literally nothing better than getting to play with my dad,” April says.
INFO: 12 p.m. & 8 p.m. Aug. 25 & 26. Roaring Camp Railroads, 5401 Graham Hill Road, Felton. Free. 335-4484.
