Arleigh Kincheloe, aka Sister Sparrow (Photo courtesy Shervin Lainez)
Arleigh Kincheloe has been making music under the name Sister Sparrow since 2010. She combines elements of soul and rock with her band, the Dirty Birds, whose instruments range from trumpet to harmonica. Her latest album, “Gold,” is a softer, more personal work released under the Sister Sparrow name solely, as she controlled much of the production herself. The New York resident plays The Broadberry on May 23 at 8 p.m. with her Dirty Birds.
Richmond magazine: Where does the name “Sister Sparrow” come from?
Arleigh Kincheloe: My brother and sister and I were taking a road trip to move my sister out from New York to Los Angeles, so we drove across the country with all of her stuff, and we stopped in Sedona, Arizona, and stayed in this place called the Desert Quail Inn, and we were finally taking a break after this really long road trip. My sister would go around the hotel calling herself “Mama Quail.” I was like, “If you’re Mama Quail, then who am I?” and she was like, “You’re too tiny to be a mama, so you gotta be Sister Something,” and she said, “Sister Sparrow!” and it kind of stuck from there.
RM: You’re known for blending several different genres in your songs. How would you describe the music that the band is playing now?
Kincheloe: I think that we are definitely rooted in soul, so that’s always an element. I used to say that we played “hard” soul, but now I feel like it’s a little lighter than it used to be. I really feel like I’ve matured a bit, and I want to be able to show different sides of myself as an artist.
RM: What can we expect from a Sister Sparrow live show?
Kincheloe: It’s very high-energy, and we’re dancing around, we’re having a good time. We play a lot of the old songs, and we play a lot of the new songs. We try to mix it up a lot. We’ve been throwing some fun covers in there lately. I’m really enjoying paying tribute to Aretha Franklin this past year, so we try to throw a little Aretha in there to pay our respects.
RM: What’s next for you?
Kincheloe: I think right now, we’re focusing on getting back out on the road for the first time in a while. This year has really been about that. I would love to get back in the studio with the Dirty Birds and lay down some of our classic Dirty Birds music that we have written already; it’s just not been recorded, so there’s some stuff that would be cool to do there.
May 23, 8 p.m. $15 to $18. The Broadberry, 2729 W. Broad St. thebroadberry.com