Flathead musician Eric Alan and Nashville trio kick off Crown Jewel Concert Series

Local musician Eric Alan didn’t expect to be touring with Nashville trio The Gold Sisters when he met one of them three years ago while performing at the Lodge at Whitefish Lake.

But, after messaging on Facebook the musicians developed a friendship. In October of last year, the sisters flew in to play with Alan during his album release show.

“For some random reason, when I was thinking about the people that would back the kind of music that was on the album, they just immediately popped into my mind,” Alan said. “The strings and the harmonies just immediately came to mind as something that would compliment the album well,” Alan said.

Now Alan and The Gold Sisters, along with drummer and longtime friend Rick Martinez, are wrapping up a two-week tour of the Flathead Valley this weekend with the kick-off of the Crown Jewel Concert Series in Bigfork.

Alan’s alternative rock, dotted with pop sounds and melodic piano meets The Gold Sisters’ folksy twang, creating a warm sound and genre-blending experience.

Tori Gold said you wouldn’t think that all of the musician’s different styles would meld together so well.

“It’s amazing that if you were just looking at the music that Eric plays, that Rick plays and that we play, you would never think to connect them, other than the songwriting, but somehow it works so good, it’s really cool,” she said. “Just being able to blend those two genres together.”

THE GOLD Sisters — made up of Shelby Gold, Jocey Gold, Tori Gold — began their foray into music after a traditional bluegrass station caught their attention as teenagers while their father was flipping through the radio channels. Living in Arizona at the time, they started listening to the station every Sunday.

Tori Gold said they all sang, but Jocey was the first to pick up instruments and encouraged the other two sisters to join. Soon, they moved to northern Virginia where a vibrant music scene gave them the opportunity to perform more and hone in on their craft.

They’ve since toured all over the United States, Canada and Europe with their family band the Gold Heart Sisters. They write all of their own original music, which they describe as a fusion between bluegrass, folk and Americana.

DRUMMER RICK Martinez has been playing with Alan since they met while he was attending college in New York. He currently resides in Portland, Oregon, but frequently visits the Flathead to perform. He said he’s watched his songs develop over the course of their friendship and is excited to see the fully formed product.

“He says they’re new songs, some of them, but really they’ve been on the backburner for 15-20 plus years. But, when those songs come to fruition in this way, it’s pretty cool to see. Because you’re looking back on something that popped into your head years ago and now it’s fully realized with strings and an acoustic setting,” Martinez said.

Martinez said playing gigs for hire is always a nice option, but playing with a longtime friend is a special experience.

“Last summer was great, I think I was coming out once a month to play shows, then I met these very talented people (The Gold Sisters) and hopefully it’s just the start of something that’s bigger than it has been in the past,” Martinez said.

Getting all of the musicians to the valley has proved challenging, with rising flight costs and rental car prices. But, after months of planning, Alan said he is ecstatic to finally play these shows.

“You know, this group is just talented enough that they can listen to something that was on my website or that I hummed into the phone, and they can practice it before they get here and they did, which I’m really grateful for their efforts and preparation and how much they care,” Alan said.

The band kicks off the summer Crown Jewel Concert Series by playing alongside John Dunnigan on Saturday, May 28. The show begins at 8 p.m. at the Jewel Basin Center at 218 Sportsman Lane in Bigfork.

For more information about Alan, visit https://www.musicbyericalan.com/home. For more information on the Crown Jewel Concert Series, visit https://crownjewelconcertseries.com/