The ladies of Eisley are staunch women. They just don’t weaken.
A lot has happened in the members’ personal lives since the band from Tyler, Texas last came to town in November. The New Year brought heartbreak for lead vocalist Sherri DuPree and guitarist Chauntelle DuPree, with a separation and a "disengagement," respectively.
But through it all the members persevered and they’re ready to get back to work, opening their headlining tour at 7 p.m. Tuesday at Meridian, 1502 Chartres St.
"Everyone is so, so excited to tour right now after such a long break and going through so much, so many bumps. Touring just is very therapeutic," keyboardist and co-lead vocalist Stacy DuPree said. "I think we’re all really looking forward to just going out on this tour. And this is like our passion in life so I think we have a lot to generate on this tour, personally."
Although Eisley’s latest album Combinations is mostly made up of deeply personal love songs, Stacy DuPree said the band did not plan to disappoint fans and leave any of them off the set list.
Instead this tour is intended to be a throwback to fans, with the group playing smaller, more intimate venues and adding older gems and a never-before-played-live song to the setlist.
"I think for this tour we kind of just wanted to create the essence of what Eisley’s been throughout the years and give our fans what they want," Stacy DuPree said. "We had a lot of requests for some older songs, and we’re playing one song from Room Noises we had never played before so I hope that’ll be exciting for (our fans) to hear."
Stacy DuPree, whose earnest demeanor often leads some to think of her as reserved and reticent, was nothing but honest when she spoke of how rehearsal of the new live song "One day I Slowly Floated Away" was going.
"We’re trying to revamp it in practice. It sounds like crap, but we’ve been working on it," she said. "We sped it up a bit too because on the record it’s a little bit droopy, but we’re excited to play that one."
The band also aims to make this tour all about the music, concentrating on leaving the fans in the ambiance by having little downtime between songs.
"This time around I think we tried musically to sort of enter more of an atmosphere with adding… musical intros or outros or making our set a little bit better," Stacy DuPree said. "So we’re trying to keep like a mood steady this time around and, you know, have more (of a) dynamic in that sense."
The three sisters, along with their brother Weston DuPree on drums and cousin Garron DuPree on bass, have their ties to the city. All were born in Houston while Garron DuPree, 18, lives with his family in Sugar Land.
"Houston is definitely one of my favorite places to play because, like, all of our crazy fans," Stacy DuPree said. "They always bring great enthusiasm with them so I’m excited to play that show for sure and I hope everyone comes along and sees us."
Get a taste of Eisley before its tour by checking out its acoustic in-store performance at 6 p.m. today at Cactus Music, 2110 Portsmouth St.
