Michele Harris-Padrón and Christi Hudson are the two halves that make up the Sweet Strings Sisters, an acoustic duo featuring folk, traditional, old-time, oldies, and original tunes. One of their unique attributes, and something they pride themselves in, is their shared past as educators. “We used to both teach,” Harris-Padrón says gleefully, which is also how they met.
“We connected by doing things together with our students mutually while we were both teaching in Oxnard, at an elementary school called Elm Street School,” said Harris-Padrón. “Whenever we can perform, we do it. In terms of my music, I started playing piano when my mom taught me when I was 5, and started playing bluegrass. That was during the blossoming of the folk music thing happening at the time, with artists like Bob Dylan. Those artists at that time were a lot of my musical influences.”
Hudson’s musical experience also started when she was very young. “My mother taught me piano, and my brother and I performed when we were 2 and 4,” she said. “When I was 14, I got my first guitar. As a teenager, I really played a lot of songs that were becoming more popular. And then when I was older, my mother and I even had a band together.”They “hope to start playing more fun, party-like events,” Harris-Padrón explained, and they’ve played a few brunch gigs at the Goodland Hotel in Goleta, as well.
For now, you can catch them at senior centers around Santa Barbara and can stay updated on the Sweet Strings Sisters by following them at facebook.com/sweetstringsisters. Listen to their music at sweet-strings-sisters.weebly.com.
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