The Miller Sisters: In Retrospect

“Let’s live the moment instead of wondering what it’s like / I can’t wait any longer so tell me if you’re wondering what it’s like / Let’s live the moment so I can go to asleep at night / Do you want to hear the truth? (tell me the truth) / Can we quit pretending that we don’t need to speak / Would it scare you if I still need who I need / We all hear the voices, do they scream inside of you? Why don’t you scream in yours (scream in yours)?” -lyrics from “The Truth,” written by Candice (Miller) Kwiatkowski appearing on the Bootleg Flyer release, “Saving Grace”

The graceful sister harmonies, endearing outfits, distinct Midwestern accents, the unwavering wall of collective duo energy, and the intimacy of sharing the gift of music with adoring fans—The Miller Sisters are ever-present. They always will be. 17th Century Quaker William Penn once said, “Death cannot kill what never dies.” That spirit is what Candice’s legacy leaves to this community and what it leaves to her family and her musical partner and sister, Karee.

“Candice was very intelligent and a great performer, and that helped me shine,” Karee said. “We wanted to play music for soul satisfaction rather than high dollar or fame, and I believe we completed that task.”

The last two children of a tight-knit family of ten including six siblings, Candice and Karee grew up on a farm in Southern Minnesota singing gospel in church as well as folk and country music. Early influences from The Everly Brothers and The Judds made lasting impressions before the youthful travel bug drove the duo to Nashville, Reno, California and Alaska in the early 00s. They eventually settled in Teton Valley, Idaho, in 2004. It was there that they uplifted the community with the Fox Creek Fandango, an annual family-friendly music festival to showcase the local talent that they felt deserved as much respect, wages, and stage time as the touring acts passing through the Tetons. Last month’s 10th annual Fandango featured six bands and was billed as a celebration of Candice’s life.

Photo: Aaron Davis

Charismatic and immensely talented, The Miller Sisters have released six recordings through three different projects—eight-piece rock band Mandatory Air’s “Live at the Knotty Pine” (2005) and lone studio album “Take Me Home” (2010), the fivepiece country soul of Bootleg Flyer’s “Saving Grace” (2013), and The Miller Sisters’ “Live at the Mangy Moose” (2006), “One for the Veterans” (2010) and an under-the-radar live-in-studio recording, “Hymnal Favorites” (2015). The latter twenty-two songs were

recorded in just three hours on the same day that Candice and her husband, Chad, had visited the cemetery where they had laid a child to rest the previous year.

“The level of vulnerability to the performer’s spiritual access is [intense],” Karee explained. “What happens when we share the songs of our souls, something is happening in that moment, the live music that is filtering through us [to] those that are present.”

In a 2010 interview prior to a Mandatory Air album release show, Karee had said, “Pretty much all of the songs on “Take Me Home” have something to do with the way we have lived, seeing out our experiences. We can give this to our kids, and that’s how we’ll portray to them what we have done in our lives.”

Now, speaking with Karee nine months after Candice’s suicide, the enduring soul-searching is evident. Candice was not only her sister and her musical partner, but also her guiding light. Candice was a natural songwriter, the impetus of chasing musical dreams across the country, of being in multiple bands and writing original material. She inspired Karee to begin writing. The overarching authenticity of their career came from performing together, deeply communicating with listeners that were willing (whether they knew it or not) to consume and connect with sometimes-intimate lyrical subjects.

“Since you’ve been gone, I’ve been so blue / Since the only thing I could cling to was you / You broke my heart, when you found someone new / And now that you’re gone and I can’t move on, what am I to do?” -lyrics from “Since You’ve Been Gone,” written by Candice (Miller) Kwiatkowski.

“Performing without Candice, I’m like a child again,” Karee admitted. “I’m not sure that I want to be a solo act or leading a band, but I’m along for the ride and getting to know who I am again and what I want. Music transcends something so much more powerful than we are able to process—medicine for the mind—and that’s a calling but I need to find what makes me satisfied. I’m a steady rock and have a good support team, and the overflowing love from this community is what gives me hope.”

Karee is continuing her musical journey as Sister Karee & the Other Brothers, which features many members of Mandatory Air. They are billed with Hayes Carll at the JacksonHoleLive! show at Snow King on July 19, 2019.

- Aaron Davis