HART & SOUL

The trio from Mississippi has been electrifying crowds across the country, but there’s a party in Poplarville on December 24 that they have no plans of missing

- TARA MASSOULEH MCCAY

EVERY ONCE IN A WHILE, you meet a person so endearing, so unapologetically authentic and genuinely gifted, that you can't help cheering for them. America experienced that times three when they got wind of Chapel Hart. Everyone who saw their viral America's Got Talent audition in July instantly fell in love with their witty reimagining of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" and sparkling stage presence. When the women teared up after receiving the coveted Group Golden Buzzer, the nation did too.

A month later, when I met up with the ladies of Chapel Hart (sisters Danica and Devynn Hart and their cousin Trea Swindle) on the set of our photo shoot, I found their energy every bit as infectious as advertised. With a little magazine magic, coordinating Christmas plaids, and a soundtrack of holiday hits that Danica (dubbed "Mrs. Claus" by Devynn and Trea) couldn't help singing along to, we set to work creating Christmas in August at Circle P Ranch in Mount Juliet, Tennessee.

Although they have only recently captured mainstream attention, the band from Harts Chapel, Mississippi (a community so small you're better off looking for nearby Poplarville on the map), has been writing music, releasing albums, and fighting for a spot in the country-music world for years. They moved through our day with the ease of seasoned professionals and the joy of kids on Christmas morning. They even have a system to coordinate their facial expressions. Call out a number from one to five, and watch the women fall perfectly in sync. It was easy to see why the band is known for chill-inducing harmonies.

They took the day in stride, finishing one another's sentences, fixing one another's hair, and cracking up over inside jokes. It's the kind of connection you might associate with twins, or (in this case) three women who grew up with 108 cousins in a tiny Deep South community named after their giant family.