From a Honky Tonk stage in Nashville to their “Two Stoplight, One Horse Town”
How music made a family while following their calling
Mike Silovich, born and raised in Fargo, North Dakota and Robyn Aristone Silovich from the small town of Elm, NJ were pursuing separate careers in Nashville when they found themselves sharing the stage. It wasn’t long until they joined forces to form the duo in 2011. The chemistry between Mike and Robyn didn’t end on stage and their relationship grew into a love for more than music.
While still performing alongside Robyn, Mike continued as a “guitar player for hire”. During this time he accepted the position as the lead guitarist for Mark Wills, affording him the opportunity to play at historic places like the Ryman Auditorium and the Grand Ole Opry. In October 2011, after an Opry performance, Mike proposed to Robyn in the only place he saw fit..at the Grand Ole Opry! They would marry the following year.
Over the next few years, they would continue to write songs and perform hundreds of shows per year in the Nashville area and beyond.
Ready to plant their roots and start a family, they bought a 12 acre tobacco field on the outskirts of Nashville. Fulfilling their dream of building their own home, they purchased a 5th wheel camper to live in and began the process. Over the next year, with Robyn helping when able while carrying the first of their three children, Mike would build their home. With their homestead taking shape and their family growing, Mike and Robyn would maintain a presence and continue
singing in Nashville.
In 2020, they felt a strong conviction to shift towards writing and performing original music. Getting inspiration from their country lifestyle they began recording and releasing a string of singles, to later be compiled as a collection of songs entitled “Things I’ve Learned”. Gaining momentum as songwriters, their latest EP “Where I’m Bound” (June 2024) is their most intimate project to date. Mike recalls, “I remember something just clicked with us while writing these songs, and we felt like we were able to write down what we were really wanting to say. And that’s an amazing feeling as a songwriter.”
The songs on “Where I’m Bound” reveal their broad range of influences. Robyn fell in love with the music and style of Honky Tonk singers like Hank Williams, and the storytelling of songwriters like Radney Foster made a huge impact on her as a young musician, as well. In Robyn’s words, “My dad would take me to see a local band when I was in grade school. From the first time I saw them, I felt the magic in the music. As I grew and dug further into more songwriters and artists, from the light hearted lyrics of Jimmy Buffett to the honky tonk, rockabilly sounds of BR-549 and the deep musical expressions of Keith Gattis, I knew I wanted to make people feel the way I felt when I heard the stories in and behind the songs.” In contrast, Mike cut his teeth on a deep dive into Blues and Soul musicians such as Sam Cooke, BB King and Al Green. “I loved everything about it.” Mike remembers. “Immediately I connected with the energy and the emotion of the music. To this day, every time I take a guitar solo or sing a line, I’m drawing inspiration from people like Bobby Womack, The Staple Singers, or Clarence Carter.” Eager to learn all he could about the music he loved, Mike would spend a number of years in both Minneapolis and Chicago before calling Nashville home.
Though the two have their own unique influences, they have openly embraced the other’s tastes in music and adopted them into their sound as a duo. “It’s a really cool feeling when you can listen to a James Brown boogie woogie, and then play a Lefty Frizzell song and understand that they’re really no different from each other. It’s all just music, and it all melts together.” Mike explains.
Navigating the waters of being independent artists as well as husband, wife and parents, they welcome the challenges each day brings with the life they’ve chosen. “At the end of the day, there’s nothing more fulfilling than knowing you and your family are living out God’s plan for your life.” Mike shares. “Not saying it’s always certain or always easy, but we can’t rightly tell our kids to chase their dreams in this life if we aren’t practicing what we preach. So we choose to lead by example.”
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