Joseph are a trio of Pacific Northwest sisters who sing in the kind of close harmony that the Carter Family brought into vogue nearly a hundred years ago—and that, when done right, can still send a shiver down your spine. On their debut, 2014’s Native Dreamer Kin, Natalie, Allison, and Meegan Closner weave their voices into a single unit and use it to explore dusty melodies reminiscent of Gillian Welch at her finest.
Those harmonies are a natural fit Pickathon’s outdoor stages—particularly the Treeline, which sits at the edge of the festival’s hilly forest, and which the trio played last year in a winsome mid-afternoon set. Pulling it off indoors, though, can be a bigger challenge: as the videos we’ve premiered from A Giant Dog and Kamasi Washington show, the tiny Galaxy Barn is well suited for noisy blasts of punk and funked-out space jazz. But in the latest episode of the Galaxy Barn Series, which we’re proud to be premiering, Joseph wrap the room together in the tightening coil of their voice with the plaintive “Sweet Dreams.” No noise? No problem. Take a calming breath and check it out below.
Pickathon runs August 5–7 in Happy Valley, Oregon. You can watch more videos from the Galaxy Barn series here.
