High Stakes and Fiery Bluffs: Girl Tones Keep It Movin’
One Anthem At A Time
We caught up with the fantastic new duo Girl Tones, a high-energy band made up of sisters Kenzie and Laila. These two are quickly making themselves known with a classic yet refreshing take on guitar-based music that blends punk, rock, and true grit. Originally trained in classical music (Kenzie on cello, Laila on piano), they traded their refined instruments for electric guitars and big drums to create something truly explosive. And it’s resonating. They've garnered praise from major artists, celebrities like Juliette Lewis (who proclaimed them her new favorite band), toured with bands like Cage The Elephant and Silversun Pickups and played iconic venues like Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Brixton Academy.They’re also confirmed for big festivals like Lollapalooza and Shaky Knees (dates below). Their live shows have already become legendary, with many likening their dynamic to that of The White Stripes. In their defense, that comparison is hard to beat for any rock duo.
They released their first single “Fade Away” in 2024 and are gearing up to release their highly anticipated debut full-length album this year. They've been dropping powerful singles in 2025 like "High & Dry,” "Blame," and most recently, "Got It," all produced by Brad Shultz of Cage The Elephant, who signed them as the first act to his new label, Parallel Vision. These tracks offer a glimpse into the future, showcasing an evolving sound, defiant energy, and their ability to tackle themes of youthful angst and self-reflection with both ferocity and vulnerability. We can't wait to hear what else this formidable duo has in store for us. Their journey from classical prodigies to rock 'n' roll rebels is a story in itself, and their forthcoming album promises to deliver, as the stage has been set via their creativity and grind.
So, without further ado, let's jump into some questions with Kenzie and Laila of Girl Tones with Good Call’s own Justin Staple.
Justin Staple:
Pleasure to meet you!
Kenzie Crowe:
Great to meet you too.
JS:
We’ve been listening to the new single "Got It". Can you describe the song a little bit for us. What went into the song sonically and lyrically?
KC:
I would say that it is full of rage—the feminine rage, be it whatever type of rage you are feeling at the moment. I wrote it when I was probably 17 or 18, so it's a little fuzzy on what exactly it's about. But that is the beauty of it—it can be so versatile towards whatever you need it to be. And yeah, it's raw, it's exciting, it's different. And it's hopefully catchy, ha!
JS:
Oh, how do you keep all these lyrics and ideas when you're 17?
KC:
On my phone and stuff. I just have a whole bunch of notes that I've taken forever. Or, like, voice memos. That's mostly how I save all the stuff. And it's just like the most random crap ever. But then you never know what will be used later or what will work later—even if it's just like one word. I mean, I've written down like "tornado" or "volcano," you know, and then we have a whole new song based around that. So it's just like writing down every little thing because you never know what will stick.
JS:
Were you still in Kentucky at that time, or were you already touring the world?
KC:
We were in Kentucky. This is basically our first year of touring.
JS:
So at 17, were you in the family band still? What was the setup there?
Laila Crowe:
It was us. Yeah, we were doing Girl Tones at that time.
JS:
Amazing. So, you have a tour coming up with Cage the Elephant again. Talk about that moment when Brad connects with you guys—where you were at that time and what that did for your career, and how it's kind of a full circle moment now that you're back on the road with them.
KC:
Oh my gosh, it was just absolutely insane. I mean, Layla was like 16 or something, and I was just in college, and I was walking around on campus and all of a sudden I look down at my phone and I see it. And of course I'm like, what the hell is happening here, ha? It was just so exciting. Basically, Brad reached out and was like, “Hey, I want to record with you all.” And we were like, “Oh my gosh, yes please.” And then COVID happened, and so that set us back a couple of years. That was really, really tough. But I think it worked out for the best because it allowed us to grow—worked on honing in on those skills.
Additionally, Brad had mentioned that he had tried to start a label a couple other times, and it just never really worked out. So once we started getting back in the studio, he set up again, and it just seems like it was fate that we had to go through those two years to end up where we are now. And now we're on his label, of course. It's just an amazing experience. It's been a whirlwind of a ride. It's not something that I ever would have expected to happen. And we're just so thankful for every opportunity that Cage the Elephant has given us—for opening for them and everything. It's really helped us grow as performers.
JS:
Does he give you any advice sonically, or how to survive tour life?
LC:
Yeah, he told us about packing cubes, ha! And so we use a bunch of packing cubes now—and definitely a life-changer when it comes to having to unpack and repack all your stuff every single day. It's nice to have semi-organized, you know, and keep things from just exploding out. But also, more seriously—he's very much like, “Give every single show your all,” no matter the crowd or the time you're playing. Every single night, they put on a phenomenal show and put all their energy into it. And it's just very inspirational to see them do that night after night. And they have a much longer set than us too. So to keep that energy up the whole time is very inspiring. It definitely helps us keep that momentum going.
You see the reaction that gets from people, and it just makes you want to go even harder every single show.
“This game is forcing my hand,
When you’re hovering over my shoulder,
I’m taking a chance,
I'm rolling the dice.
Even though the circle’s on fire, And the flames of the bluff get higher. I’m taking a chance, I'm rolling the dice” - “Got It”
JS:
And now you have some pretty massive ones coming up—Lollapalooza, Austin City Limits. How are you guys preparing for that?
LC:
I don't even know. We're just like—it doesn't even feel real. I don't think it's going to really set in until we actually get there. It's next week, and we keep being like, “Oh shit, that's next week! What is even happening?” It just seems like such an unfathomable thing that we're even at this point, going to these iconic festivals like that. I'm so beyond grateful.
JS:
Will you have any friends and family coming out to Lollapalooza or any of the festivals?
KC:
Yeah, we invited our friends from The Velveteers. We went on tour with them earlier this year and became pretty good buddies, so they're going to come out. And then of course our parents and my husband. It's going to be an adventure for sure. I'm very excited to see how it goes.
KC: Touring up until this point with Silversun has really helped us. That is our practice—every show is practice. So we just keep getting better and better, you know? So hopefully by Lolla, we're going to be nice and comfortable. That's the good thing about doing this run of shows up until Lolla—we'll feel more comfortable in front of audiences.
LC: When you're in that zone of touring, it's a lot easier to jump into a show, because you've got all these ones back to back to back. It’s really good we have this kind of long tour right before Lolla. It won’t be just like a one-off show where we have to get into the zone that day. We’re coming off a tour and we’re already in that zone so it just worked out great.
JS:
That sounds great—everyone’s going to love it. To circle back to “Got It”, I want to talk about the music video a little bit. Talk about the conception and creation of that music video.
KC:
Oh my gosh, that music video is so good. Have you seen it?
JS:
I’ve only read the descriptions. I want to see it, but I read all about it.
KC:
Stop! Oh my God. Yes. So we worked with this artist named Chloe Tyler, and she was just amazing to work with. We basically just told her everything—we explained the song to her, the concept, things that we had in our mind. We love old CD-ROM games like I Spy, all those old eclectic digital games. So we were heavily inspired by that with the song, with some of the lyrics being like "Playing A Game," "Rolling The Dice"—all this kind of stuff. We really wanted to focus in on that concept. It’s a game, right? She just knocked it out of the park. When she sent in the video—she finished it in like three weeks—we were hooting and hollering. We were so excited about it. She absolutely killed it. We couldn’t be happier with it.
KC: We’re huge fans of claymation. We’ve always been fans of Wallace and Gromit—stuff we grew up with. So we really wanted to play into that nostalgic thing. And yeah, that’s kind of it. I can’t wait for everyone to see it.
JS:
So what’s next for the rest of the year? You got the single and video, you’ve got a bunch of tours—are you plotting another EP or anything?
KC:
We're definitely just going to keep playing shows and releasing music, and just keep the momentum going. We’re keeping this year busy. So we'll just keep on dropping stuff and playing shows.
JS:
What’s the feedback been like from your fans? Are you getting a lot of inspirational messages or younger fans?
KC:
Yeah, I mean, we’re at a point in our career where people are just now discovering us. So we're all discovering each other at the same time—like, we’re discovering our fans at the same time they're discovering us. They're definitely enjoying everything we’ve been putting out. When people come to our shows and see us live—the energy is so important to us on stage. Sometimes recordings don’t necessarily have that same energy, even though you can try to. But it’s a little more difficult to portray the actual energy of the live show.
KC: When people see us live, they often say it’s better live than the recordings, just because of that energy. So that’s been kind of interesting. But yeah, we're all figuring it out together. We do have some younger fans, which has been really cool. And we’ve gotten a lot of siblings saying, “Oh my gosh, I want to do this with my sibling.” People love that whole aspect of the band as well.
JS: I’m sure you get this question all the time, but I feel like I should ask it anyway—what's it like being siblings on the road, having to work with your sister every day?
LC: It’s great. It’s a lot of fun. We have a lot of fun together. We like each other a lot, so that works in our favor. But we have our sibling moments—who doesn’t? To me, it’s easier, because we’re sisters. We know whatever we're arguing about is just stupid stuff—it’ll be fine, you know? It’s great. It all works out in the end, it’s a lot of fun.
KC: I’d rather work with one sibling than a whole band of people that are just friends. That seems like hell to me, to be honest.
JS:
Less stakes. Yeah, it's way more organic.
JS:
Have you had a favorite city on tour? And a city you’re looking forward to or any sites to check?
KC:
When we were in Europe, we definitely made time for all the touristy stops. That was a lot of fun—we had a lot of fun in Paris. And surprisingly, on this tour, Missoula, Montana was really, really cool. They were moshing and shit, so that was one of my favorite spots in the U.S. And Kentucky, that’s where our family and friends are from, so those shows are always fun too. Honestly, Los Angeles is a lot of fun too. So there’s a few different places—but yeah, Missoula goes hard for sure.
JS:
Are there any younger bands you're absorbing at this point? I read in some of the press releases your style might be evolving into a more electronic direction?
LC:
Oh, I would say in our recordings we definitely layer more synth and stuff, but it’s still very guitar and drums heavy. I wouldn’t say we’re going in a fully electronic direction, but we definitely mess around with stuff like that just because we’re able to. But it’s not something we can really take to the stage—considering it’s just the two of us. I can’t really play synthesizer while playing drums, you know? We’re not ones to want to paint ourselves into a corner. So if one day we do end up being like, “Screw it, we want to be fully electronic,” then I guess that’s the direction we’ll go. But right now, it’s still pretty guitar-forward stuff.
JS:
Excellent. Well, Congrats on the new single, “Got It” is great and good luck with these massive festivals coming up!
KC:
Thank you so much!
Follow Girl Tones on IG at @girl.tones | Photo Credit: Main @iamlamendola & Live @TYLERANN.JPG
