“How cool to get to live your dream with your best friend,” Bartoletti says of building a career with Presley. “She knows exactly how I feel because we are going through it together and it takes a little bit of the weight off.”
The two singer/songwriters met at a Nashville bar and quickly struck up a friendship. When they decided to get together and co-write songs, it didn’t take long to realize that they had a special musical chemistry. Their voices melded into an engaging blend and collaborating on new songs just felt natural and exciting. Thus Reverie Lane was born.
The path leading to Reverie Lane was radically different for each of the two women. Tucker is the daughter of country music legend Tanya Tucker, and though it might seem that a music career was an obvious path, she admits she had her reservations. “I didn’t want to for a long time. I ran away from it. It was like too big of a shoe to fill,” admits Tucker who initially moved to the West Coast and embarked on an acting career, scoring roles in films and on television shows such as CSI, before eventually returning to Nashville.
Bartoletti moved to Nashville from her native Pittsburgh, and though her dream wavered and she moved back home for a spell, she knew in her heart that music was her calling. She returned to Music City and partnered with Tucker to form Reverie Lane. Their distinctive vocals and dedicated work ethic caught the attention of the late Bill Ham, the legendary manager known for shepherding ZZ Top’s lengthy career, who took the girls under his wing early in their career. The duo also signed a publishing deal and began collaborating with such noted songwriters as Matraca Berg, Marcus Hummon, Leslie Satcher, Rob Crosby, Brad Crisler and Lance Carpenter.
“We’re storytellers first and foremost. Everything we write is a story,” Bartoletti says.
“We have a lot of traditional country stream through us,” adds Tucker. “We’re older souls.”
Reverie Lane’s debut EP, Women & Trains, showcases the duo’s ability to weave interesting tales about life, love and loss while often injecting a healthy dose of humor. Such is the case on the cleverly written uptempo number “Before the Rice Hit the Ground,” a hilarious portrait of a redneck wedding that goes completely awry. “When we play it live, it goes over really well,” says Bartoletti. “I love it!”
The title cut has an intriguing vibe, almost like Johnny Cash meets the Dixie Chicks as the ladies admonish a hesitant suitor “If I’m gone when your mind is made, it’s cause women and trains don’t wait.”
There’s an earthy authenticity to their delivery that ropes the listener in, especially on the hauntingly tender “When Love Walks In,” which Bartoletti penned with Hummon. “A lot of people that don’t even like country music like that song,” notes Tucker of the song’s broad-based appeal.
Another standout track is the poignant heartbreak ballad “Could’ve Fooled Me,” which Bartoletti and Tucker co-wrote with Daniel Smalley. Tucker’s aching lead vocal on the song is reminiscent of her mother’s best work. “That is a country song if I’ve ever heard one,” Tucker smiles. “You can feel the pain, I think. We were going to go in and fix some things but we ended up not doing that because it just needed to feel raw, like a fresh broken heart.”
The duo dial up the attitude on the sassy “Good at It,” which boasts the infectious hook: “If I’m gonna be bad, gonna be good at it.” “We’re definitely bold, but not in an asshole way,” Tucker states unapologetically.
“We’re not the prissy butterfly types with high heels,” Bartoletti adds with a laugh.
As much as Bartoletti and Tucker enjoy writing songs and bringing them to life in the studio, they have a special love for the road. In addition to building a solid fan base in the U.S. thanks to an impressive number of streams, the duo has also toured in the UK and Australia. “When you play on stage and get the reaction from people, it’s like a high,” says Bartoletti. “I’ve done so many different jobs in my lifetime. I worked in customer service. I’ve been a bartender. I’ve been a server. I’ve been a manager before. I’ve worked for the oil and gas industry and honestly every time it’s like the universe is forcing me to do music. I worked for a company where the owner ended up embezzling like $30 million dollars so the company closed. I got another job and then six months later the company closed. I swear it was the universe telling me, ‘Just do music. Just do music. Forget everything else. Here it is. You can do it!’”
Bartoletti and Tucker are taking cues from the universe and following their creative hearts. “We’ll see where this lane takes us,” she says. “We’re proud to be here.”
