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By Beth Cassidy

Enterprise Record

Caleb and Sara (Snow) Davis have been making beautiful music together for most of their lives. They met just over 20 years ago in the cafeteria of Davie High and make up the musical duo His & Hers.

In their teens, they were in the same music and choral classes (her mom, Elaine, was the music teacher), and say their “vocal music is definitely” their strength and what comes naturally.

“I learned to sing a capella in church, and a lot of our musical preference comes from singing harmony. It’s just really easy for us to harmonize,” Sara said.

They both graduated from UNC-Charlotte, and Caleb is an operating room nurse, while Sara teaches special education at Davie High.

The couple was hired to sing at a wedding about five years ago and came to the realization they might be able to do gigs other than that wedding.

“Once we got back from the wedding, we started learning cover songs and creating a set list to play in public,” Caleb said. “We eventually moved into more original music, particularly folk and bluegrass.”

Caleb plays guitar and Sara plays mandolin. They play, on average, about 25 to 30 events a year, working around their jobs and family of four; they have two sons ages 8 and 10. Like most musicians, being able to play music full-time is on their wish list, but only if they are able to maintain their family structure, said Caleb.

Some of their favorite gigs are private events, because they can tell their listeners are really focused on the music, but they also enjoy playing at vineyards, breweries and festivals. They still mix in covers from artists such as Old Crow Medicine Show, Billy Strings, Tom Petty, and John Prine.

“It just depends on the venue,” said Caleb. “We’ve really built our repertoire to be able to cater to the crowd. We have quite a big repertoire so we never do the same set at any point in time. Sometimes I’ll even throw an electric guitar in there and play some Jimi Hendrix or AC/DC.”

Since music is a sideline, the pandemic didn’t hit them as hard financially as it did other bands, but they said they were disappointed to see some of the festivals they enjoy being canceled.

“We are seeing it start to pick up more, and even with Covid, people are more excited to get outside and hear music,” said Sara.

They remember how Mocksville was when they were younger, how no one was downtown at night, and say how happy it has made them to see the vibrance of shops and restaurants open and people enjoying the downtown area and all it has to offer now, including live music.

“I love being in the little network of the bands from around here,” Sara said. “It’s very personal to me since I grew up here. I hope we can continue to grow within our community. I’d love to see a music festival here, a full-day music festival. And of course, I’d love for us to play Merlefest.”

His & Hers will be the opening band at Carolina Bible Camp’s bluegrass festival scheduled for Sept. 11. Sara said the family friendly event is open to everyone. “It’s a very well thought-out event, with very traditional music, modeled after Merlefest. It’s a great community event.”

Other upcoming events can be found on the duo’s Facebook page and on Instagram.