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Writer's pictureJennifer Patino

Dream Rock Vibes at The Coin Slot with Hail Your Highness






We at The Jam Files were elated to finally see Hail Your Highness play at The Coin Slot on Sunday night after devouring their music for an entire week. The band, consisting of sisters Jessie and Niki Bobenmoyer from Grayling, MI, opened for Patty Pershayla + The Mayhaps and played a fantastic set.


Songs like "SOFTBOY" and their latest "Imagine the Cure" have a pop-rock sound that emboldens their use of post-hardcore riffs and lyrics that have the perfect amount of emotion and angst. Hail Your Highness is femme rock at its most glorious and their use of misty lo-fi instrumental interludes between songs creates ethereal transitions before Niki snaps you awake by rocking out on drums and Jessie absolutely destroys on guitar. When a duo has the same level of power as a full band, I find that to be extremely impressive. HYH has energy like you wouldn’t believe with their epic vocal harmonies and echoing distorted melodies.


Jessie and Niki are absolutely lovely humans and told me they’ve been performing since they were teenagers. "Our parents owned a venue and we’d play there every Friday night," says Jessie. "We learned how to engage an audience there." Niki has been playing drums since she was nine years old and is heavily inspired by Eric Carter from the band Kids in the Way. "I modeled my drumming after him," she says.


Some other bands that have influenced Hail Your Highness are hardcore bands like Underoath, Thursday, Emery (I noticed Jessie’s Emery tee shirt right away), and The Architects. They also love indie bands like The 1975 and Japanese House. When the girls got into K-pop it really changed their sound. Lately they’ve been jamming out to grunge and shoegaze groups like Softcult and Teenage Wrist. "The indie scene is the best place to connect with other artists who are doing it all themselves too," adds Jessie. Indulging in the Hail Your Highness discography allows the listener to hear how the band and their sound has evolved over time.


HYH played their new single "Dandelion" on Sunday which officially drops on July 19th and we’re sure you’re going to love it as much as we did. I am partial to the song "KILL the Revivalist" with the lyrics “This may not be your truth, but it is the truth/Do you believe it?/Evil men do business behind beautiful doors/This is what happens when you play god/And don't know your lines”. This song also really showcases their "dream rock" sound.


The sisters shared that they were slated to play the SXSW Music Festival this year but unfortunately had to pull out due to vehicle trouble. The festival has told them they have a slot for next year if they are able to have a reliable van to make the trip to Austin, Texas. If you’d like to help these ladies out please consider making a donation on their GoFundMe page.


Hail Your Highness puts on one rockin’ show and uses humor as a way to connect with their audience. The crowd at The Coin Slot was definitely feeling the band’s sound. They have some awesome merch available as well. We picked up a cassette (be still my old school heart!) and a mini zine. They will be returning to Traverse City on July 26th to play a show at The Alluvion with Guardrail, Ghoul for a Goblin, and The Party Members. You can purchase tickets HERE.



Be sure to check out Hail Your Highness on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, Bandcamp, and anywhere you stream music!




Jennifer Patino lives in Traverse City and loves music. Visit her blog at thistlethoughts.com

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