While she grew up in Georgia and began making her musical mark in California, Barbara Nesbitt became a known entity locally and beyond as half of country rockin’ Whiskey Sisters. Nesbitt released her third solo album Almost Home in 2013, a subdued singer-songwriter reflection of where she was before the Sisters started their Austin rumble. When Teal Collins returned to Marin County two years later, the remaining Sister’s discography remained quiet until the release of Right as Rain. The new disc finds Nesbitt making accomplished contemporary country, music with smarts and attitude, a faultless demonstration of her clear soprano that falls somewhere between the sweetness of Suzy Bogguss and the whiskey tinge of local Sunny Sweeney. The disc features some of Nesbitt’s best songwriting, a mix of bluegrass (“Hot Tin Roof”), honky-tonk (“Someone I Can’t Live Without”), and plainspoken sexuality (“I Brought My Pajamas, Let’s Get Drunk”), all from the heart and with a knowing wink toward tradition.
This article appears in February 3 • 2017.