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Their stage name may not be too original, but Judd & Maggie don't mind much. The pair is a no-frills, unassuming alternative folk duo, a brother-and-sister tandem that went from living-room jam sessions with their family (last name: Bolger) to a deal with the legendary RCA Victor imprint, a label mostly known for its classic Broadway catalogue (Maggie is a Broadway buff, so the connection excites her). Though their national debut Subjects was met with enthusiasm in the mainstream last August, the duo recently re-released it in the Christian marketplace, where they hope to find a new audience. Christian Music Today went out to lunch with Judd & Maggie and talked about all of this, including their spiritual fervor and their desire to relate the gospel in their own contemplative way.

Maggie & Judd Bolger use their folk songwriting to relate the gospel to others in their own way.

How does a sibling duo get its start?

Maggie I have five other siblings and we're seven total. We grew up in a very musical environment. My dad was in a folk band in the '60s. After he and my mom got married, they would sing and play and at church sometimes. All of our siblings picked up an instrument. We'd have little family jams at home. I would just sing the harmony part for my dad, Judd would play the piano. Although we weren't doing it as a duo at that time, we were in the same room trying to learn to listen to every one else.

About four years ago Judd started writing songs, and he would play the guitar in the living room. I would start to sing along because I was just so used to it, and my parents would say, "Oh, that sounds good!" Our voices blended well.

So how do you go from singing in your living room to a recording career?

Maggie We did an album by ourselves with some friends' help. That's how we started as a duo. We did our own demo album. After my sophomore year in college I decided to quit and just do music full-time. We worked on a three-song EP and set up a few showcases. We had been doing some local shows and also recording and trying to work on what exactly we were as a duo. When we played our showcase, it was just Judd and myself. He was on guitar and I was on bass on some of the songs. It was mostly vocals and harmony. So we weren't very different from where we started.

Today you're signed to RCA Victor, one of the most historical labels in the U.S. How come?

Maggie Our attitude is just kind of in the moment. We weren't thinking, Wow, this is so incredible! When we went into it we just thought, This is God's will for our life. When we went to play for RCA Victor in their offices in Times Square, we said, "Whoa, this is kinda different from what we were doing." At the same time we didn't have to change anything about what we were about. We were just ourselves. God's gonna open doors and we're just going to be good stewards of what we've been given. We still live at home and we're still really grounded with our family and our faith.

Judd: Yeah, that was basically it. It wasn't a big decision-making process. We didn't gig a lot at first. We recorded an independent CD on our own. We did meet our manager about three years ago, and that's when this got a little more serious. We started doing our showcases for the labels.

Maggie: We realized that our voices blended well. Personality-wise, it's really cool to have a business thing together, because we're now bound by blood and by a music contract.

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