The taste of success

Three strangers, all girls in their late teens, meet at a singing competition, become a country music trio and begin touring the Southeast. It might sounds like the plot of a movie or sitcom, but it’s reality for the three Alabama natives that make up Sweet Tea Trio: Chelsea’s Savannah Coker, 20; Gadsden resident Kate Falcon, 18; and Tuscaloosa resident Victoria Camp, 20.

In January 2013, Coker participated in Nashville Bound, a singing competition for young performers with aspirations in the “music biz.” Although she originally auditioned as an individual, she met two other girls — Camp and Falcon — and they decided to form a group, bonding over a Pistol Annies song. 

The year 2013 would go on to be their breakout year. 

In July, they sang together at the World Deer Expo at the BJCC and won first place at “Do You Have the C-Factor,” another singing competition. In September 2013, they snagged another first-place win at the Mid-South Fair’s youth talent contest.

The trio’s success has continued from there. In 2014, they won the 33rd annual Country Music Showdown in Lancaster, South Carolina, and in 2016 they were named Alabama’s Country Female Artist of the Year. They were nominated again this year.

The Sweet Tea Trio also performed at this year’s Country Music Awards in Nashville.

Each of them knew from childhood that this is what they wanted to do. 

“I’ve always wanted to be an entertainer, so I knew from a very young age. I knew I wanted to be a singer or an actress, and as I got older, I wanted to be just like my older sister,” Coker said. “So I started singing as well. I moved more toward the singing side of things than the actor side of things.” 

For Falcon, it started with a talent contest. 

“I entered a contest when I was 12, and won, and I got to open up for Travis Tritt in Gadsden,” she said. “I looked at my parents, and said, ‘Okay, when can I do that again?’ And I got a vocal coach, and that’s it.”

Camp wanted to be a competitive swimmer, but “when I was 12, I had a serious back injury, meaning God had other plans,” she said. “I ended up getting into music when I was 12, and got up from there.”

And the group has been in sync since they started. With each question, their answers start with, “Ditto what the other girls said,” or “I agree completely with the others.” 

“We’re all the exact same person, so we all think the same, but I would say that when I was little, I always prayed for a sister, and we all say that we’re sisters at heart,” Falcon said. “We’ve gone through everything together, the highest of highs and the lowest of lows together. They’re not just my trio members, we’re best friends.” 

The trio even has matching heart tattoos on their hands to celebrate their bond.

All three also agree that the hardest part of traveling is being away from family, but the second hardest might be being so young and having a full-time career. 

“When your friends are all getting to go out, you have to travel to a gig,” Coker said. 

It’s all worth it in the end, though. 

“When little girls come up and say they want to be like us, and when their parents say they want their little girl to be like us, it just makes it all worth it. We’re doing exactly what we were put on this earth to do,” Coker said. 

“The little girl thing is so special because they look up to us and all that,” Camp added. “It’s so special to see them from the stage singing every single word to every one of our songs.”

After being together for four and a half years, their plans for the future are solid. 

“I see us doing exactly what we’re doing now, still being best friends, making music that makes people feel something,” said Camp. “Of course we have other goals as well, like a world tour and national tour.” 

They still find it surreal when they go back to their small towns and someone recognizes them and gushes over their success.

Of course, a group like theirs would not have been possible without some people in the background, the girls all said. The women point to their team of friends and family that’s been a guiding hand for them. Camp mentioned one fan, Charlotte Milam, who died two years ago, and influenced them to pay closer attention to their fans. Milam’s husband still attends the trio’s shows.

For those looking to get into the music business, the trio has a bit of advice: “The business can be really hard, so always make sure you surround yourself with people who are going to encourage you. Keep God first, and if it’s meant to be, it will happen. It’s head over heart, but when you have that gut feeling, you have to go for it, because your guts usually always right.”

For tour and other information on the band, go to facebook.com/SweetTeaTrio.