The Pharaoh Sisters Are Picking Up Their Strings

An interview with Austin Pfeiffer

I first met Austin Pfeiffer in the mid-oughts (circa ‘06 or ‘07?). Those were the days of deep V-necks, nooma™ videos, and when bands were beginning to phase out of myspace™. We’ve run parallel in downtown Winston-Salem for quite some time. Our bands would play together at The Garage (RIP), we’d each work separate stints at B-String Guitars and later worked together at Camino Bakery. We also happened to go to seminary and serve in churches. One of the things I love about this area is that there are plenty of what M. Craig Barnes calls “minor poets” or poet-pastors to go around. In artistry and spirituality, we help make the invisible visible. As musicians and writers, we write about what we see in hope that others may see and be seen.

A couple years back, Austin started the band The Pharaoh Sisters with his friend and collaborator, Jared Meyer. They recently released their second album ‘By Babylon’s River’ on all digital platforms and hope to press it on vinyl soon. I’m happy to welcome Austin of The Pharaoh Sisters for a Silent Strum interview. Keep strummin’ - Kyle

The Pharaoh Sisters photographed by Raysa Suarez Williams

KC: How did the Pharaoh Sisters come about?

AP: In 2017, there was a national gathering of Presbyterian pastors in the Triad. I was in charge of the music, so I put together a group to play folk and bluegrass hymns. We ended up writing a few originals alongside performing some old hymns, a Gillian Welch song, and a Mavis Staples song. That was the first time Jared and I started playing together, and from there, we decided to form a folk outfit. Over the years, we’ve had the privilege of playing with some amazing musicians, including John Ray, Kevin Beck, and Clayton McKenzie. Thomas Pendergrast has been with us from the beginning as our cellist, making him the most deeply involved member besides Jared and me.

KC: What is your band currently up to?

AP: We just released our second album, By Babylon's River. It took us three years in the studio to complete. This album features more intricate string arrangements, expanded vocal parts, and reflects a deliberate effort to achieve a greater level of sophistication. We also recently wrapped up a Kickstarter campaign to press the record to vinyl—our second time doing so. While we’ve done a little writing lately, our main focus is on promoting this album and preparing to (hopefully) play shows in the summer of 2025. For now, we’re celebrating and working to share this record with as many people as possible.

KC: "Saloon Christian" may be one of my favorite genre descriptions. Unfortunately, the streaming platforms do not have this listed as a genre and you guys float around in the Christian-Folk-Americana space. How does your music sit in those worlds?

AP: The “Saloon Christian” label is a playful way of describing what we do: writing folk, western, and country-inspired music with a Christian perspective. The Pharaoh Sisters was partially formed out of a desire for clear parameters. I really love writing lyrics, and Jared has a passion for old instruments. We’ve committed to creating folk music, which keeps us grounded in using actual instruments (though we have nothing against software and electronics in other people’s work!).

Personally, I think folk music sets a higher bar lyrically. The more experimental or “out-there” the music, the more you can get away with esoteric lyrics that might not mean much. Folk and country, on the other hand, demand a plainness and honesty that’s challenging to achieve without coming across as dull or trite.

KC: It seems like the new album is in many ways a homecoming, as if you are finding a musical home for what you are doing. There's some palpable joy in tracks like "Sing, oh Sing." How has the band grown musically since previous releases like your album "Civil Dawn" ?

AP: That is such gratifying feedback. Civil Dawn was, in many ways, a piece of folk literature. It’s almost a concept album, with each track tied together by the theme of longing for home. The lyrics were very story-oriented and deeply personal to me. This new album, however, isn’t a concept album at all. The songs don’t have much in common lyrically, but the focus was on writing collaboratively.

Jared is a master of music arrangement, and his involvement increased significantly on this record. I also felt a sense of relief after writing so many melancholy songs over the years. With Civil Dawn, I felt like I had accomplished what I’d always hoped for, so I was ready to explore joy and contentment in much deeper ways. Jared arranged most of the music, played the bulk of the instruments, and produced the record. His expanded role and incredible skill in crafting lavish orchestrations brought out the joy and tranquility I hoped to convey in this album.

Lyrically, I enjoyed exploring the Western longing sensibility that runs through our work but with more hope and sweetness this time. We also love to laugh and wanted to inject some humor into the songs. This is especially evident in the title track, which carries a touch of dark humor, and the final song, “Samson,” which is particularly cheeky.

KC: In listening to the album, I really notice themes of "exile" and "exodus" are all over the place, particularly in the title track "By Babylon's River." What keeps these themes so present in your music?

AP: Jared and I are both from the West. We absolutely love North Carolina, but Jared is from Montana, and I’m from Oregon. Those places feel so distant from our daily lives now that we both carry a constant, low-level longing for a home that’s far away, different, and filled with a certain romantic sentiment. We’ve channeled that longing into the spirituality of all our music. I don’t think I can escape playing folk music that carries this sense of longing because music is where my heartache for the West—and ultimately Heaven—finds expression.

KC: Within our modern spiritual malaise do you see "estrangement" or "alienation" as additional themes that your music wrestles with? How so?

AP: I wouldn’t necessarily call it alienation, but estrangement feels like the right word. Johnny Fritz has a song called “Cries After Making Love,” and I’ve always admired how he manages to write a folk song that addresses contemporary topics like technology and social media. Those themes risk clashing with the timeless nature of the folk genre, but he pulls it off beautifully. Ever since hearing that song, I’ve hoped to do something similar.

On our last album, there’s a song called “Angle of Repose,” which is our most deliberate attempt at exploring estrangement from God and one another caused by technology. However, on this album, rather than critiquing estrangement, I wanted to focus on how, despite our self-imposed distance, God moves toward us. That’s the central idea behind “Tender of the Soul.”

KC: Tell me about your creative process. How do your original songs come about? What is it like to reinterpret classic hymns?

AP: Maybe I’ll start with hymns. There’s a strong tradition in contemporary Presbyterian circles of reworking old hymns. A lot of this comes from a movement based in Nashville called Indelible Grace, though there are plenty of others involved as well. We essentially just joined in on that tradition. I didn’t grow up in the church, so it’s fun for me to flip through a hymnal, read the words, and have no idea what the original tune sounds like.

For example, the song “‘Tis Finished” on this record is based on a Charles Wesley hymn, but I still don’t know the original melody. I simply took the lyrics and set them to a tune I wrote myself. Similarly, I’ve only vaguely heard “All Things Bright and Beautiful,” but our version came about while I was picking on a guitar with an alternate tuning on a deck in Oregon. The words to the hymn came to mind after I got attached to the riff I was playing. It’s about taking a song structure that initially has nothing to do with the lyrics and then pairing it with a hymn that fits what we’re creating musically.

As for our original songs, they usually start with the music. Typically, it’s a progression on the guitar that evolves into a song structure. Sometimes Jared and I come up with progressions together, or I bring something to him that I’ve been working on. Once the structure is there, I’ll start writing lyrics.

After that, I like to play the songs with other people—whether it’s for an audience or at church—and see how they take shape. That experience often informs changes to the tempo or structure. The real creative magic, though, happens in the studio with Jared. Everything before that is just framing the house. Jared is brilliant at finishing the house—making it not only functional but also beautiful.

KC: What keeps you inspired?

AP: Seeing people live is most inspiring. I just saw Willie Watson up in Asheville and can't keep my hands off the guitar ever since. Basically if we can see one of the Acony Records folks live, that's enough to fire me up for a few months of writing and playing.

Thanks so much Kyle!