Meet Double Take: The twin band making waves in the local music scene

We all know the sibling bands of the Jackson Five, the Jonas Brothers and Alvin and the Chipmunks, but get ready to meet a local twin band, Double Take, which has started making waves in the local music scene.

Double Take is a band of the Stinnett brothers, Will and Wyatt, from Portageville. The two have been playing music since they were 6 years old, but five years ago at the age of 11, they created their band and it has stuck around. Their unique twin dynamic and musical talent have garnered attention and admiration. The twins are now 16 and living the dream of many coming-of-age movies.

“Wyatt and I say that being in a band with our twins all the time is something unique. A lot of people don't get to experience that. So there's a lot of love that goes on there. But there are also a lot of funny moments where we are at each other's throats. But I would say we definitely, we definitely enjoy being in a band with each other,” Will said.

Will and Wyatt Stinnett's musical journey began at a young age. They were influenced by their father and grandfather, who played music in Sikeston and made sure the boys were always around music.

The band name, Double Take, was inspired by their twin status.

“We kind of were in the car one day and we had been tossing up a couple of different names because we were about to play our first gig and we landed on Double Take just because we were twins and that's how that came about,” Will said.

Double Take's musical style is a blend of blues, country and rock ’n’ roll. The twins draw inspiration from iconic bands such as the Beatles and Chris Stapleton.

"We like to play a little bit of everything. ​​We kind of really like bluesy country rock ’n’ roll. Those are our main kinds of hits. That's what we sound good at,” Will said. “Obviously, we like to sound cohesive and like one piece and that's what we strive to be, just, we want to be good music so that everybody can listen to a good time.”

The songwriting process varies for the twins, with some songs coming together in 30 minutes and others taking weeks or even months. Will said sometimes they will sit down and have a song done at that sitting, but other times it could be a few weeks before they settle on something.

Each song is different for the band, some with deep meanings behind them, while others have little to no meaning, but they just enjoyed creating it.

“It's just kind of different with every song. We have a couple of songs out right now, like our our newest single “Legacy of Love”, that has a lot of meaning behind it. It was for our grandpa who passed away. But then, on our EP, there were a couple on there like “Ole Smokey”. It's just about a two-stroke, pontoon that just kind of doesn't have a meaning to it,” Will said.

The band is excited to play its unreleased songs, some of which are their new favorites. These new songs, Will said, sound more like the EP they originally put out, “Take One”, with the country rock blues genres.

“I think that the newer stuff that we have is something that kind of could go back to the first EP that we put out called “Take One”. I think that the newer stuff is definitely more falling into the country rock blues genre that we're kind of leaning into right now,” Will said.

Double Take has performed at various venues, with The Library in Cape Girardeau being a favorite because of the energy at each show.

“We just like the atmosphere in there. It's always a good time when we go in there to play. There's a good energy to it and they always take care of us.” Will said.

Looking ahead, the twins plan to continue their musical journey through high school and, possibly, beyond. But once they move off to college, they will have to make some pretty hard decisions, Will said.

The band is excited about its upcoming performance at the Back to School Bash on Thursday, Aug. 15, and will be playing at 5:45 p.m. at the Discovery Playhouse outside stage.

“I think that everyone can expect a lot of fun. We definitely like to have a good time when we're on stage and we will definitely play some unreleased music and just hopefully we sound good.” Will said.

If you can’t catch Double Take at the Back to School Bash, they will be opening for the Marshall Tucker Band at the Music on the Mississippi on Saturday, Aug. 31, in New Madrid.

Double Take's music is available on all streaming platforms, and the group maintains an active presence on social media, including Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.