The gorgeous harmonies of No Good Sister are produced by Meaghan Kyle, Jess McDowell and Maren Sharrow. Their music, which they write themselves, reflects the best of pop, vintage country, folk and Americana.

By Len Lear

If you love to listen to impeccable three-part harmony, then you will love the music of No Good Sister. I have to agree with local music critic Nick Cristiano, who wrote in the Sunday Inquirer on April 9 that “three-part harmonies rarely sound better than they do on the debut full-length album, ‘You Can Love Me,’ by No Good Sister, a group consisting of three local women — Maren Sharrow, Jess McDowell and Meaghan Kyle … The three singers also write top-notch songs that, like their vocals, deftly balance the sweet and the tart.”

Meaghan, who lived in Lafayette Hill until recently; Jess, formerly of Mt. Airy; and Maren, a former Fairmount resident, have voices that blend like the violins in an orchestra. They will be performing their captivating marriage of pop, vintage country, folk and Americana this Saturday, April 22, 8:30 p.m., at Boot & Saddle, 1131 S. Broad St. (Check out their songs on YouTube, and you’ll see what I mean.)

Of course, one question that must constantly come up is how the trio happened to come up with the name No Good Sister. Their answer: “Jess one day (way back before the band existed) had been referencing someone's ‘no good sister,’ and she thought that would make a pretty good band name. So she saved it until she found herself in a band that lived up to the title.”

Meaghan started acting professionally at 16 and went on to earn a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse U. Jess is completely self-taught, and Maren was always singing and acting as a kid in school productions but also sporadically took voice lessons. (When I asked their ages in an earlier interview, Meaghan replied, “Well, we thought we'd break the ice by telling you how much we weigh first.”)

Jess and Meaghan met singing back-up vocals in a large Philly band, A Fistful of Sugar, but they “were itching for a project that put harmony as the absolute focus of the project ... There's nothing like three-part female harmonies, if you ask us, so we knew we needed to find another person to complete that sound.” (Meaghan had met Maren a few years ago while she was bartending when they both lived in Fairmount.)

Maren was serenading a bunch of neighbors late one night. “Her voice is so beautiful,” said Meaghan. “I mentally catalogued it in my musical Rolodex of artists I hope to one day make music with. So when Jess and I were thinking of who else to sing with, I arranged for them to meet each other and see how our voices would sound together.

“It was pretty much instantaneous ... we fell into a natural rhythm. So before we even had our first song written, I booked our first gig to ensure this would come to fruition. I knew we needed a goal date.” That first gig was a Hurricane Sandy Benefit Dec. 6, 2012, at Milkboy Philadelphia.

In the past year or so, the trio has performed locally at Burlap & Bean in Newtown Square, World Cafe Live Philadelphia, the Ardmore Music Hall, Ortlieb's, the second annual Philadelphia Country Music Festival, the Philadelphia Folksong Society Showcase in Doylestown, the Appel Farm Music & Wine Festival in Elmer, NJ; Triumph Brewing Company in New Hope and the Wilmington Flower Market Battle of the Bands, which they won.

What was the favorite gig in their career? “Each one is like a snowflake, so they're often hard to compare,” said Meaghan, “but I would say that the two most memorable experiences were playing the Philadelphia Folk Festival Martin Guitar Mainstage in 2015 — it was a dream gig, surrounded by bands that are our friends and our icons simultaneously — and the time that we sang the National Anthem at a professional wrestling event. There's never been another gig quite like that one, for many reasons!”

How difficult is it to juggle their careers with personal and family obligations? “It's certainly difficult for each of us individually, and even for our bandmates. But the hardest things seem to have the greatest rewards, so you don't find us complaining too much. The fact that we each have wonderfully supportive families (most especially our partners) AND we get to perform and record our music; these are good problems to juggle.”

What was the hardest thing No Good Sister ever had to do? “Through the years, we've had to change the lineup of the band more than a few times. That is always hard because it is never personal, and we have the greatest amount of respect and gratitude for everyone we've worked with.”

For more information, visit www.nogoodsister.com.