MTSU Honors The Secret Sisters at Annual Pre-Grammy Event
The Secret Sisters, an Americana duo that includes MTSU alumna Laura Rogers, was honored Saturday by the College of Media and Entertainment at its annual industry event preceding the Grammy Awards.
Rogers and her sister, Lydia Rogers, are nominated for Best Folk Album in Sunday’s 60th Grammy Awards. They shared their excitement, and some life lessons, at a Manhattan BBQ venue that was crowded with industry executives and university alumni.
“We’re shocked, we feel like deer in the headlights, and we don’t know what to expect, so we’re just taking it moment by moment and trying to relish each in the sense of excitement,” Laura Rogers told Recording Industry chair Beverly Keel in an on-stage interview.
“More than anything, I feel a sense of redemption,” she said. “It’s a big honor for us.”
The sisters from Muscle Shoals, Alabama, had a difficult path to the success they are celebrating during this weekend’s Grammy festivities. Catching on shortly after Rogers graduated from MTSU, they went from touring with Bob Dylan to losing their label, purging their team and filing bankruptcies.
Yet those hardships became the material for the songs for their third album, a crowd-funded project that would garner the nomination.
“The Secret Sisters’ success story is one of ups and downs that is truly a lesson in perseverance and believing in yourself,” Keel said. “Instead of giving up, Laura and her sister Lydia kept fighting for what they believed in, driving by their passion for music, and their hard work has resulted in this Grammy recognition.
“That is certainly something we want to instill in our students. Laura continues to make MTSU proud and I am thrilled we are honoring her in this way.”
President Sidney A. McPhee joined Keel in congratulating Laura for not only the nomination, but demonstrating the grit and perseverance found in so many MTSU students and alumni.
“Laura is a perfect example of what we mean when we talk about True Blue spirit,” he said.
Laura Rogers is among an array of MTSU former students honored at this year’s Grammys:
Wayne Haun, ’00, from the School of Music in the College of Liberal Arts, produced three of the Best Roots Gospel Album nominees.
Jason Hall, ’00, engineered Little Big Town’s “The Breaker,” is included in the Grammy nomination for best country album.
Former student Sam Hunt’s chart-busting “Body Like a Back Road” is nominated for best country solo performance and best country song Grammys.
Country trio Lady Antebellum, which includes former MTSU student Hillary Scott, is nominated for Grammys in the best country duo/group performance and best country album for “You Look Good” and “Heart Break,” respectively.
Two-time Grammy winner Torrance Esmond, the 2003 MTSU music business graduate known professionally as “Street Symphony,” also will be looking for gold for his work on best children’s album nominee “Rise Shine #Woke” by the Alphabet Rockers.
Laura Rogers described her years at MTSU as “really transformative,” adding, “It put me in a place where I had absolutely, continuous access to music on every level…
“The great thing about MTSU is that they aren’t stuck in one old way of doing things. They keep up with an ever-changing industry so that they are modern and up to speed on everything.”
Her advice to students now? “Take it all it. Go to your classes. Do your homework. Respect your teachers.”
