Raising Daughters ain’t for the weak. The country folk duo, led by Josette Axne and Hallie Riddick, interrogates the ever changing role of a daughter. Grounded in sound that is “reminiscent of The Staves and Indigo Girls with lots of harmony and humor” (Laura Shine, Louisville public media), the Daughters strive to bring perspective to conversations of girlhood, coming of age, and legacy.

Hallie and Josette met as students at the National Theater Institute (NTI) in 2019. They collaborated on everything from Chekhov, to clowning, and as part of their training, they took songwriting classes. Noticing their instinctual pull towards music, the daughters found their way into theatermaking through song. At the end of the semester, Hal and Jo collaborated on Hallie's original play with music, FLUSH, and this early focus on the intersection of character, performance and sound has continued to inform their songwriting style. 

The pair reunited while working and living at NTI as apprentices during the 2020 COVID pandemic. In isolation, Hal and Jo came together to explore. Each calling on their unique musical histories–– Hallie, a Kentucky native, and Jo, a Coloradoan born and raised–– they met with their guitars on the old couches every night to share what they were working on. Through this vulnerability and exchange, they grew a strong friendship alongside a creative partnership. They launched an experiment to match their instincts to an authentic sound –– an experiment that would later become the seven songs of their first album, GET HOME.

When Josette and Hallie moved to New York in 2021, they threw themselves into the NYC indie scene. Working with producer, Jason Sill, they began to lean on classic country instruments like fiddle, pedal steel, and mandolin to fill the soundscape of Raising Daughters. While gigging in NYC, they found musical homes across the boroughs: Pete's Candy store, Cafe Wha?, Rockwood Music Hall, Mercury Lounge, Union Pool. 

The Daughters went on to release their first EP, Petty Crimes, in February 2024 and sold out their release show at Rockwood Music Hall. They traveled to the Folk Alliance International Festival in Kansas City that month to play in private showcases, and were thrilled to share a showcase with artists, Bandits on the Run and John Gallagher Jr. 

The Daughters then embarked on their first tour, aptly named The Maiden Voyage, in August 2024. Joined by artist Belle Shea, they played all across the northeast, including a sold out show in Washington DC at the Scooby Doo Mansion. Hal and Jo went on to tour the south and midwest with friend, Ian Fisher, the following September, visiting Chicago, IL, Louisville, KY, Bloomington, IN, Cape Girardeau and Ste. Genevieve, MO. 

The Daughters recently moved to East Nashville and their new single, HOLY, was released May 2025. Their friendship and vulnerability continues to be at the center of their work.