SHEL and Gareth Dunlop – “Hold On” (video) (Premiere)

The Fort Collins, Colorado band SHEL is comprised of sisters Sarah, Hanna, Eva, and Liza. The convivial sound of the quartet’s music could easily be chalked up to its family camaraderie, but there’s also the matter of the classical training that goes into its music. With deep training on the violin (Sarah), harp (Liza), mandolin (Eva), and piano (Hannah), it’s no wonder the band’s music is as meticulously composed as it is.

Joined by Gareth Dunlop for the track “Hold On”, a number off of the soundrack to the new Nicolas Sparks film adaptation, The Best of Me. Even if one isn’t a fan of Sparks’ brand of schmaltzy romance, there’s still plenty to love in the tender, lovelorn harmonies of “Hold On”, captured nicely in the intimate video performance below.

Eva Holbrook reminisces on the songwriting process of “Hold On”: “We had each spent the day writing alone with nothing to show for it. Gareth suggested we end an unfruitful day with an inaugural collaboration. We immediately stumbled onto this song and both of us thought it had a little magic.”

Sarah Holbrook boils the collaboration down to its essence: “This is just what happens when you put four sisters from Colorado, one Irish brother-from-another-mother, a six pack of cider and a very outspoken mandolin case in a room together.”

The Best of Me OST is out now via Capitol Nashville. You can stream the entire album over at Billboard.