The Purple Hulls at Winnsboro Center for the Arts

The Purple Hulls are Katy Lou and Penny Lea Clark, identical twin sisters who grew up in the Piney Woods of East Texas playing bluegrass music almost before they could walk. Their sound is built on close family harmonies, mandolin, and fiddle, with a repertoire that ranges from traditional bluegrass standards to original Americana songs about growing up country in the modern South. They played The Bowery Stage at Winnsboro Center for the Arts on Saturday, August 1, 2026, a show that has already come and gone but is worth noting for anyone who values the live music culture within reach of the property.

Show details

About the duo

Katy Lou and Penny Lea Clark are the real thing. They grew up playing music in church and around the family farm in East Texas, and their twin chemistry gives their harmonies a locked-in quality that only siblings can achieve. Katy Lou plays mandolin and sings lead on some songs; Penny Lea plays fiddle and takes lead on others. Their original music draws on the landscape they grew up in, the pine forests, the red dirt roads, the small towns that anchor Northeast Texas. The Bowery Stage was a natural fit, an intimate room that lets the audience hear every note and every breath.

The venue

Winnsboro Center for the Arts is one of the cultural anchors of Wood County. Housed in a historic downtown building, it hosts art exhibitions, theatre productions, and live music year-round. The Bowery Stage, their smaller performance space, is designed for acoustic music and spoken word, with excellent acoustics and a capacity of about 100 people. It is the kind of venue that touring singer-songwriters love to play, and it consistently brings in acts that you would expect to see in much larger cities.

Winnsboro is about 40 minutes northwest of the property via US-271 and TX-11. The drive is a straight shot through the Piney Woods, and the venue sits on Market Street in the walkable downtown district. Even though this specific show has passed, the venue's calendar is always worth watching.