‘They’re going to feel like they read our diary’: Americana duo Goldpine to play show at the Chameleon

Rising Americana duo Goldpine looks to bring the same live performance energy to Spokane that they have bottled up for their upcoming third album.

Goldpine is composed of husband-and-wife duo Benjamin and Kassie Wilson. Long before the two were singing charming harmonies together, they were both bright eyed, small-town-raised musicians looking to make it on their own in Nashville.

Kassie grew up in northern Alabama and made the move to become a full-fledged country singer while Ben was raised in Oskaloosa, Iowa, and initially wanted to become an audio engineer. Ben’s time learning the complications of the more technological side of music has resulted in his productions of their music today, more than 20 years later.

The two met through a new and small church in Nashville. The church was so new that they didn’t even have their own building, instead congregating in a school cafeteria. A friend of Ben’s asked him to play guitar during worship. Kassie was one of maybe 25 in attendance. She would later message Ben on MySpace and their relationship formed soon after.

It took a number of years before the two would start making music together. Kassie grew up on rock, soul, and the country she moved to Tennessee to sing while Ben had a folk-rock background and almost exclusively grew up on Christian contemporary music.

“It was really interesting getting us together, musically, and trying to figure out what we were going to be,” Ben said. “It was hard for us at first to figure out how we were going to write songs. We had such different ways of thinking and backgrounds of music.”

The two would land on what they call “bold, harmony-driven Americana” and initially form as a duo under the name My One And Only before changing to Goldpine, a name symbolizing the past and future, a few years ago.

“Kassie grew up on Pines Road in Alabama, and that is kind of representative of the past,” Ben said. “And gold is the element that is refined by fire and trials, and that is, we hope, representative of our future.”

Now, their third album as Goldpine, “Three,” is set to be released July 11.

The two are constantly touring and playing shows around the country as they drive themselves from place to place in a van. Last year, they brought recording equipment alongside their usual gear in order to capture the special sense of energy found in live music. Most of the record consists of those recorded performances.

“We really were just going for that live energy feel that sometimes you can’t quite capture in the studio,” Ben said.

Lyrically, the two tend to write about deeply personal subjects, including the struggles of having family members with addictions as well as those that come with growing up in rural parts of the country. The record explores faith and what they believe “love” truly means beyond the four-letter word.

“Not just ‘surface type’ love but thinking about what real love is and what real love means, getting down to the depths of our souls of what we even define love as,” Ben said. “We’re on a lot of topics that hit a lot of heartstrings.”

They are currently on a West Coast tour that will take them to Spokane and the Chameleon on Sunday, featuring openers Nicole Lewis and Lucas Brookbank Brown. This is the second time Goldpine has toured up the West Coast and their first venture to Spokane.

The two hope concertgoers show up expecting a distinct, intimate show of personal stories that evoke internal contemplation and a wide range of emotions.

“There is something about sharing stories and sharing tears and sharing laughs that is really connecting,” Ben said.

The duo actively seeks a sense of connection with the crowd, the kind beyond simply buying a ticket and watching somebody sing.

“Whenever we finish a show, they’re going to feel like they read our diary,” Kassie said. “They’re going to feel like they are our friend and not just someone on stage, that’s our hope.”