A Rowdy Faith

Reviewed by Harry Kaplan

Two of the most beautiful voices I have heard in a long time. Cate Davison and Alisyn Reid compliment each others’ singing so well that they turn two voices into one. A Rowdy Faith is the partnership combining Alisyn’s Americana with Cate’s Southern Gothic style. They are both natives of Arkansas. I think they want to keep it a secret, but it seems like there is something brewing in Arkansas. There is quite a bit of good music coming from down that way.

This music is quite an amalgamation of many different styles. There is definitely a backdrop of country and bluegrass, but also a good sized helping of 90’s alternative, blues, reggae, and a little bit of Broadway flare. I am again astounded by the quality of independent music that is available. A Rowdy Faith is another in a long list of tremendous musicians putting out extremely high quality music.

I have mentioned many times that I am a sucker for great female voices. I am also a big fan of songs that contain slide guitars. So much to my delight, Little Willy (Track 4) contains both elements. The singing is superb and the slide guitar work is blistering. My compliments to Gene Reid, who plays a pretty mean slide. This song is a bit deceiving. It seems like a happy song, but has a bit of a dark twist. It is about a woman who falls hard for a guy, only to be killed and buried by said guy. Even though the song is dark, it is brilliantly written by Alisyn Reid:

When I was young and careless with illusions of time
You came to sit beside me and I spoke to you my mind
I wanted you to marry, and I knew when I first saw
Your handsome face, your charms and grace
And you said, “Come along.”

I followed you up mountains, so steep and so high
And crossed down those valleys, though my feet ached and cried
What did you say when I saw your ways, and longed for my life?
“A new dug grave, here, come this way, my silly little bride.”

That’s pretty heavy, don’t ya think? Some of the best songs ever written are dark. So don’t get too caught up in the subject matter. They frame it beautifully and do a nice job of adding irony with the upbeat music and slide guitar.

Another really lovely song is Sweet Wine (Track 1). It is a folk, acoustic number that really highlights the heavenly voices of Davison and Reid. They do some really neat tempo changes in the chorus that show their vocal talents and add a tremendous amount of interest and depth to the song. This is a very romantic song about the love of a significant other and how wonderful that is. Their singing is very convincing.

I could prattle on and make a compelling case for the other seven songs on this album. Suffice it to say that all of the other songs are heavy weights as well, and there really isn’t a weak link in this collection. So get on the ground floor and say you knew of A Rowdy Faith way back when before they got discovered. Yes, I said it. - Twangrila

Cate Davison and Alisyn Reid aren't sisters, but you'd never know it by the easy way their voices slide together through parallel harmonies. Reid's bright, bold voice has the clarity of Emmylou Harris or Alison Krauss, to which Davison adds a warm, rich alto. After spending some post-college years pursuing acting careers, the pair reunited back home in Arkansas to sing together for a friend's wedding, started rehearsing together, and eventually decided to make it official. One can't help but think of groups like The Watson Twins or Indigo Girls when hearing the duo (often mistaken for a Christian group because of their name), but their vocal chemistry rests atop a different accompaniment; Davison's father, Steve, plays the banjo and drums, lending a sort of "hot jazz" feel to the tunes, Alisyn Reid's mother, Ty, holds down a steady bass line, and her father, Gene, answers Alisyn's acoustic guitar with subdued, moody electric guitar for effect. The two-family ensemble is recording this summer at Blue Chair Studio, an effort that undoubtedly will distill what's already a distinctive sound. - Arkansas Times

January 21, 2016 Becca Bona

If you spend more than five minutes with Cate Davison and Alisyn Reid, the dynamic duo behind A Rowdy Faith, it’s obvious they’ve been friends for a while.

In fact, their friendship dates back to their time at Central High School, although they didn’t know then that they would later be band mates. Davison remembers, “Alisyn and I were in drama together … that was the first time we worked together as performers.”

They each followed their acting dreams into college as they headed to the East Coast. Reid attended the Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia while Davison attended Winthrop University in South Carolina. All the while, they remained fast friends, even when they headed to new cities after college.

Davison moved to Chicago to follow up on an acting career. In 2013, she decided it was time for a change and moved back to Little Rock. “The decision to stop acting was very much an identity crisis for me, because it had been my plan for my entire life. But I realized the business didn’t work with the kind of life that I wanted,” she explains.

Reid was already back in Little Rock when Davison arrived, having traveled to New York for a conservatory program at Stella Adler. She says, in terms of acting, “I think the conclusion we both came to, certainly the one I came to, was, I really like working, rehearsing and eventually performing, but auditioning is just not my thing.”

Reid was already singing and playing around town when she recruited Davison. The two first sang together at a friend’s wedding, and never looked back and began rehearsing together.

While Reid starting her song writing in college, Davison had only recently began working at it, during her last few months in Chicago. “I was living in an apartment without central heat, no internet connection, and there was just me and my guitar that I couldn’t play that well and my dog. I would hole up in my room with a space heater and write songs,” Reid remembers, laughing, “And some of them were ok, and some of them not very good.”

After Reid secured a show in East End, Ark., Davison opened up and played some of her songs between Reid’s set. “I wrote those songs when I wasn’t acting anymore and I was crazy depressed. I desperately needed an outlet, and … [Alisyn] was responsible for convincing me to share those.”

They quickly chose a name – A Rowdy Faith. Davison laughs, “I think people often mistake us for a Christian act, because of the word ‘Faith’ which happens to be Alisyn’s middle name.” Since branding themselves they have continued to write on their own and then practice together, opening up the rehearsal space for suggestions and edits.

These days, the line-up has grown to include what Davison terms, “a legit family band.” Out of moving back home the duo has been extremely grateful to spend time with their families. Reid’s mom plays bass while her dad plays lead guitar, and Davison’s dad plays the banjo and drums.

In fact, Davison and Reid look back to their younger years for musical influences. Davison remembers growing up listening to more of an Americana style, with Jazz mixed in. “I listened to a lot of Ella Fitzgerald and loved the big standard period,” she says. Reid, on the other hand, thinks back to Thursday nights when her parents used to play music with friends. “They would take turns playing songs …

often it would be The Beatles; Crosby, Stills, and Nash; Tom Petty; and John Prine.”

Thus, A Rowdy Faith is a mix of all things good – classic rock and folk combined with sultry jazzy, bluesy tones. Plus, they have a knack for harmony.

You can tell after listening to a set that they really feel their songs, which makes hearing them live that much more enjoyable.

If you ask, both Davison and Reid will tell you they’re introverts, and playing is a big deal to them. They’ve graced the South on Main stage among others, and recently discovered that they’ll be in the first round of the Arkansas Times Musician Showcase.

While they’re excited to be in the upcoming showcase, they have thoughts on the local scene. Davison says, “The food and drink scene here is solid, but I think Little Rock could stand to focus a little more on the art scene. … It’s very niche.”

In the meantime, they have chosen Little Rock as home, and can’t wait to fight to make it the best it can be.

If you haven’t already, check out some of their work and catch an upcoming show. - Rock City Life