The Watson Twins are an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 musical group based in Los Angeles

Los Ángeles

Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...

 with alternative country

Alternative country

Alternative country is a loosely defined sub-genre of country music, which includes acts that differ significantly in style from mainstream or pop country music...

 and indie folk

Indie folk

Indie folk is a music genre that arose in the 1990s from singer/songwriters in the indie rock community showing heavy influences from folk music scenes of the 50s, 60s and early 70s, country music, and indie rock. A few early artists included Lou Barlow, Beck, Jeff Buckley and Elliott Smith...

 influences. They are identical twin sisters named Chandra and Leigh Watson.

Chandra and Leigh were born on March 28, 1975 in Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa, Oklahoma

Tulsa is the second-largest city in the state of Oklahoma and 46th-largest city in the United States. With a population of 391,906 as of the 2010 census, it is the principal municipality of the Tulsa Metropolitan Area, a region with 937,478 residents in the MSA and 988,454 in the CSA. Tulsa's...

 and raised in Louisville

Louisville, Kentucky

Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...

, Kentucky

Kentucky

The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...

. They attended the University of Evansville

University of Evansville

The University of Evansville is a small, private university with approximately 3,050 students located in Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College, it is located near the interchange of the Lloyd Expressway and U.S. Route 41. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church...

 then moved to Silverlake, California in 1997, where they were founding members of and backup singers for local band Slydell. They also began writing their own music and performing with other musicians.

In 2006 the Watson Twins released their debut EP, Southern Manners, almost simultaneously with Rabbit Fur Coat

Rabbit Fur Coat

Rabbit Fur Coat is an album by Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, featuring The Watson Twins. It was released in the United States on January 24, 2006 by Team Love. Lewis has described the album as a "sort of soul record". The album contains a cover of the Traveling Wilburys song "Handle With Care",...

, their collaboration with singer-songwriter Jenny Lewis

Jenny Lewis

Jennifer Diane Lewis , is an American singer-songwriter musician and actress. She was the primary vocalist of the indie rock band Rilo Kiley, and has released two solo albums. She currently performs as part of the duo Jenny & Johnny with boyfriend Johnathan Rice...

. Their album Fire Songs was released on June 24, 2008 and on February 9, 2010 they released "Talking To You, Talking To Me" both on Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records

Vanguard Records is a record label set up in 1950 by brothers Maynard and Seymour Solomon in New York. It started as a classical label, but is perhaps best known for its catalogue of recordings by a number of pivotal folk and blues artists from the 1960s; the Bach Guild was a subsidiary...

.

The group recorded a version of the Neil Young

Neil Young

Neil Percival Young, OC, OM is a Canadian singer-songwriter who is widely regarded as one of the most influential musicians of his generation...

 song "Powderfinger

Powderfinger (song)

"Powderfinger" is a song written by Neil Young, first released on his 1979 album Rust Never Sleeps. It subsequently appeared on several of Young's live recordings, and has been covered by several bands, including Cowboy Junkies, Beat Farmers, Rusted Root, and Jazz Mandolin Project...

" for the American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records

American Laundromat Records is an indie label based in Mystic, CT.The label has produced several tribute albums, including Dig For Fire - a tribute to PIXIES, Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young, and High School Reunion - A Tribute to Those Great 80's Films...

 compilation charity album titled Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity, released in February 2008.

Discography

• Rabbit Fur Coat
  Rabbit Fur Coat
  Rabbit Fur Coat is an album by Jenny Lewis of Rilo Kiley, featuring The Watson Twins. It was released in the United States on January 24, 2006 by Team Love. Lewis has described the album as a "sort of soul record". The album contains a cover of the Traveling Wilburys song "Handle With Care",...
  
  (2006) (credited to "Jenny Lewis with the Watson Twins")
• Southern Manners (2006)
• Cinnamon Girl - Women Artists Cover Neil Young for Charity (2008)
• Fire Songs (2008)
• Talking To You, Talking To Me (2010)
• Night Covers - EP (2011)

External links

• The Watson Twins official website
• The Watson Twins on MySpace
• Feature story on The Watson Twins at Country Standard Time
• Interview with The Watson Twins at StereoSubversion.com
• The Watson Twins at prefixmag.com
• PopWreck(oning) interview with Chandra Watson, Pt. I
• PopWreck(oning) interview with Chandra Watson, Pt. II